How to Use backfire in a Sentence

backfire

1 of 2 verb

• But that’s backfired in the past: Of the 15Iditarods he’s entered, he’s scratched from seven.
  — Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Mar. 2023
• Many fear the rules could backfire, allowing poachers to cash in on shark fins and jaws.
  — San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Feb. 2023
• In the end, though, the joke backfires: the book sells, and becomes the most successful thing Monk has ever published.
  — Radhika Seth, Vogue, 7 Feb. 2024
• Machado’s stance has also led to praise from Guyana, which could backfire on her.
  — Elias Ferrer Breda, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
• But some fear that projects connecting west Broward to the coast could backfire, snarling traffic for years.
  — Spencer Norris, Sun Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2023
• But in Gibson’s case, the technique appeared to backfire.
  — Sally H. Jacobs, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Aug. 2023
• Of course, the plan could also backfire: What if the eight miscreants corrupt the entire flock?
  — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Jan. 2024
• But new research found that app time limits such as these can backfire.
  — Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2023
• But there have been instances where April Fools' fakeries have flopped – or worse, backfired.
  — Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2023
• The move backfired when Mitchell’s pass was intercepted by linebacker Ty Jones at the 36.
  — Preps, al, 26 Aug. 2023
• If the hire acts more like a fan than a journalist, the decision could backfire on Gannett.
  — Maria Sherman, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2023
• The company has a hit on its hands (for now, at least), but the experiment could backfire.
  — James Vincent, The Verge, 15 Feb. 2023
• One such example of a tax cut that backfired occurred in Kansas over a decade ago.
  — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 24 Jan. 2024
• But knowing the difference between the right and wrong players to pay is a skill, and choosing wrong can backfire.
  — Dallas News, 13 Feb. 2023
• But the same features that get users talking about books and authors can also backfire.
  — Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times, 27 June 2023
• Just remember that pulling out of the stock market, or paring back, could backfire.
  — Russ Wiles, The Arizona Republic, 7 May 2023
• The ratio backfired for Commenter B, and everyone looking at the comments saw it and knows it. P.S.
  — Stacey Grant, Seventeen, 6 May 2023
• The decision backfired, as Wong hit a down-and-away slider for a ground-ball single into right field.
  — Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 12 Aug. 2023
• Some suggest the methods may backfire by causing more burnout and driving more nurses to quit.
  — Jessica Bartlett, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Apr. 2023
• The plan backfired, because Wilpon was investing in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
  — Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2023
• Tuchel defended his tactics after the decision to switch from a back four to a back three for the first time this season backfired.
  — James Ellingworth, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2024
• The takeaway lesson, lawmakers said Tuesday, is that gambling the state budget on the price of oil can backfire.
  — James Brooks, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Feb. 2023
• And yet, the White House has every reason to believe the risk that this maneuver will backfire on Biden is minimal.
  — Noah Rothman, National Review, 3 Jan. 2024
• His desire to lower the hearing's profile appears to have backfired.
  — Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 14 Mar. 2023
• But the interview backfired, undercutting the claims of bribery.
  — Luke Broadwater, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024
• The decision backfired when Kevin Newman lined an opposite-field, two-run single to right field for a 4-3 lead.
  — Bobby Nightengale, The Enquirer, 30 Apr. 2023
• Despite the 2019 deal backfiring on the club, there is room for the Cowboys to be more aggressive at securing their own talent.
  — Dallas News, 6 Mar. 2023
• Showing actual gameplay as part of a reveal is a brave move, and one that may have backfired on Marvel Rivals, as the footage didn’t look great.
  — Mike Stubbs, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
• There’s a warmth to Danny’s interactions with Eli that suggests the New Zealand transplant means well even when his plans backfire.
  — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024
• Expressing your political views nonstop at the office can backfire.
  — Roxane Gay, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024

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backfire

2 of 2 noun

• Crews lit backfires on three sides of the fire overnight to limit its spread, said fire Capt.
  — Joseph Serna, latimes.com, 29 June 2017
• Their property was right on the char line where the state had laid a backfire to stop the wildfire in its tracks.
  — Paige St. John, latimes.com, 10 July 2017
• But swinging at the first pitch backfires if the hitter cannot put it in play at a decent rate.
  — Matt Gelb, Philly.com, 4 Aug. 2017
• If spot fires breached the highway, firefighters planned to set a backfire to stop it.
  — Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2021
• Did Shayna's plan to persuade the court to be lenient backfire?
  — CBS News, 23 Apr. 2017
• But his clever escape backfires as The Republic turns out to be a slave ship bound for Africa.
  — Hannah Herrera Greenspan, chicagotribune.com, 5 Dec. 2019
• The engine sounds and blasts of sharp exhaust backfire are best heard from inside the cabin.
  — Austin Irwin, Car and Driver, 25 Feb. 2022
• The Reds had a sacrifice bunt call backfire in a tie game against the Colorado Rockies on May 15.
  — Bobby Nightengale, The Enquirer, 18 Sep. 2021
• When Denker is forced to attempt a broth, which is awful — to the delight of Spratt — his scheming backfires.
  — Washington Post, 10 Sep. 2019
• But as the parties gear up for midterm elections and beyond, could the sharp questioning backfire on the GOP?
  — ABC News, 27 Mar. 2022
• Ah, the fateful moment when Joey, crammed in the back seat of a cop car with Ross and Chandler, hears a gunshot (car backfire) and leaps over Ross.
  — Washington Post, 25 May 2021
• But Smith made the decision backfire when his single made it 2-0.
  — Clark Spencer, miamiherald, 8 June 2018
• If its wager backfires, everyday low prices will be where Walmart least wants it: in the stock price.
  — Charley Grant, WSJ, 30 Mar. 2018
• Leehmann thought fire managers were waiting too long to set the backfire on Forest Service land.
  — Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2021
• At a certain point, though, the reward of opposing Sanders is worth the risk of seeing an attack backfire.
  — Jay Heflin, Washington Examiner, 15 Feb. 2020
• Miles Zaremski, 73, was about a block away from the shooting and said he also, at first, thought the sound was a backfire or a firecracker.
  — New York Times, 4 July 2022
• To this point, Kendall has been reluctant to play along with their idea, but Matsson’s approach backfires, and puts Kendall on board with his good pal Stewy.
  — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2023
• Can this rah-rah rhetoric backfire and become a gag-inducer?
  — George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2021
• And, avoiding breakfast for the sake of a larger meal later in the day typically backfires.
  — Rebecca Jaspan, Mph, Rd, Health, 23 Nov. 2023
• But hoping to achieve you out of their worry almost always backfires.
  — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 11 May 2023
• Logitech has also designed the K380 keys with an ample amount of travel and a nice backfire from each keypress.
  — Jacob Krol, CNN Underscored, 7 July 2020
• Stopped our show tonight due to a motorcycle backfire that was mistaken for a bomb or a shooting.
  — CBS News, 7 Aug. 2019
• This attempt at extortion backfires in a way that could only happen to Greg.
  — Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, 2 Sep. 2019
• China isn’t the only country to see some of its virus assistance backfire in Europe.
  — Andrea Dudik, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2020
• Could attacking backbench members of the House GOP backfire?
  — Erin B. Logan, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2022
• That decision backfires, with Kora on hand to channel her friends' shock and fear into anger and a willingness to fight back.
  — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 13 Nov. 2023
• When Holly's attempt to deal with the haters backfires, Holly wonders if some topics are off limits.
  — Michelle Krupa, CNN, 3 Nov. 2019
• Times Square was sent into a panic about a motorcycle backfire that, many in the crowd assumed, was the latest gunfire in a public place.
  — Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review, 12 Aug. 2019
• The enchantment, however, backfires halfway through and now the siblings have to journey across the land to find the items needed to fully restore their dead father.
  — Nick Romano, EW.com, 17 Dec. 2019
• But the information drop was an epic backfire and helped spawn opposition groups that exist to this day.
  — Jason Daley, Discover Magazine, 2 Oct. 2011

Last Updated: 5 Sep 2024