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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
And then there are lingering concerns the Santa Ana winds might kick up and turn a new brush fire into an inferno. Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2025 On Friday, a new brush fire in the northern section of Granada Hills, named the Archer Fire, ignited shortly before 10:30 a.m., forcing an evacuation warning that included heavily urban areas of the San Fernando Valley community before forward containment could be achieved. Denise Petski, Deadline, 4 Feb. 2025 The expansive Palisades Fire erupted the morning of Jan. 7 in Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood east of Malibu, as a brush fire and was quickly exploded in Southern California’s dry weather conditions. Dennis Romero, NBC News, 1 Feb. 2025 From their vantage point at San Diego Fire Station 16 atop Mount Soledad in La Jolla, fire Capt. Paul Shuttleworth and engineer James Butters had a clear view of a brush fire near Gilman Drive and Via Alicante on Jan. 23. Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Jan. 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

Browse Nearby Words

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Brushfire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brushfire. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!