brushfire

1 of 2

adjective

brush·​fire ˈbrəsh-ˌfī(-ə)r How to pronounce brushfire (audio)
: involving mobilization only on a small and local scale
brushfire border wars

brush fire

2 of 2

noun

1
: a fire involving low-growing plants (such as scrub and brush)
2
: a minor conflict or crisis
putting out political brush fires

Examples of brushfire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
Air and ground resources quickly battled the brush fire, which had jumped I-580 and snarled traffic in the region. Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 23 May 2025 Here at home, extreme weather exacerbated by climate change is having many unfortunate impacts on our lives, from farmers losing crops to devastating floods, brush fires, and high heat days. Michael Leone, Hartford Courant, 28 Mar. 2025 On Monday morning, the St. Charles Fire Department responded to a brush fire on the 4000 block of Lincoln Highway in St. Charles, according to a press release from the fire department on Monday. Aurora Beacon-News, Chicago Tribune, 7 Apr. 2025 Listen to this article An arsonist was sentenced this week to more than 13 years in prison for setting two brush fires in East County last fall, the District Attorney’s Office said Thursday. Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for brushfire

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1954, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1850, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of brushfire was in 1850

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Cite this Entry

“Brushfire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brushfire. Accessed 29 May. 2025.

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