misfire C1 Topic:Safety & Risk US /ˌmɪsˈfaɪɹ/ UK /ˌmɪsˈfaɪə/ See IPA manual Freq #41499 Meanings 1 verb to fail to fire, ignite, or detonate properly The damp cartridge caused the rifle to misfire. 2 verb to fail to achieve the intended result or to have an unintended effect The attempt at humor may misfire if the audience misses the reference. 3 noun an instance of a weapon, engine, plan, or action failing in this way Engine diagnostics traced the misfire to a faulty spark plug. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to fail to fire, ignite, or... fail to firemalfunction 2 verb · to fail to achieve the... failbackfire 3 noun · an instance of a weapon,... failuremalfunction ↔ Opposites succeedfunction Word family Derived forms misfirer Related forms backfiredud Etymology Either a compound of mis- + fire or a solid form of the earlier phrase miss fire. Its figurative sense extends a failed discharge to any action that fails or produces the wrong effect. Topics Safety & Risk External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # misfire **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** verb, noun **IPA (US):** /ˌmɪsˈfaɪɹ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˌmɪsˈfaɪə/ **Frequency rank:** 41499 ## Meanings 1. to fail to fire, ignite, or detonate properly 2. to fail to achieve the intended result or to have an unintended effect 3. an instance of a weapon, engine, plan, or action failing in this way ## Examples - The damp cartridge caused the rifle to misfire. - The attempt at humor may misfire if the audience misses the reference. - Engine diagnostics traced the misfire to a faulty spark plug. ## Synonyms - failure - malfunction - backfire ## Antonyms - succeed - function ## Derived Forms - misfirer ## Related Forms - backfire - dud ## Etymology Either a compound of mis- + fire or a solid form of the earlier phrase miss fire. Its figurative sense extends a failed discharge to any action that fails or produces the wrong effect. ## Topics - Safety & Risk markdown