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# backfire

verb (backfire, backfires, backfired, backfiring); noun (a backfire, backfires)

«backfire» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. If a plan backfires, it goes wrong and has the opposite result to what you wanted, often hurting you instead. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backfire/#m1)
2. If a car or engine backfires, it makes a sudden loud bang because fuel explodes in the wrong place. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backfire/#m2)

### In the lessons

In stories and everyday life, tricks and lies often backfire on the person who did them — a common lesson in fables. In science, a backfire in an old car or motorbike is a loud bang, sometimes mistaken for a gunshot. Phrases: «backfire on someone», «the plan backfired».

### Examples

- His plan to scare his sister backfired when he got scared. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backfire/#x1)
- The joke backfired, and nobody laughed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backfire/#x2)
- Lying to your parents can backfire. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backfire/#x3)
- The old car backfired with a loud bang. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backfire/#x4)
- Her trick backfired on her. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backfire/#x5)
- Skipping lunch backfired — I felt sick in the afternoon. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backfire/#x6)
- The fox's clever plan backfired in the end. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backfire/#x7)
- The motorbike backfired and the birds flew off. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backfire/#x8)

### Note

One word. Pattern: «backfire on someone». It is mostly a verb about plans; it does not mean a fire starting again. A firefighter's «backfire» (a planned fire to stop a wildfire) is a special meaning.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «backfire» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backfire/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«backfire» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/backfire.html) on Mova free.