misfire
verb
mis·fire
| \ ˌmis-ˈfī(-ə)r
\
\
misfired;
misfiring;
misfires
Definition of misfire
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: to have the explosive or propulsive charge fail to ignite at the proper time
the engine misfired
2
: to fail to fire
the gun misfired
3
: to miss an intended effect or objective
the new ad campaign misfired
misfire
noun
mis·fire
| \ ˌmis-ˈfī(-ə)r
, ˈmis-ˌfī(-ə)r\
, ˈmis-ˌfī(-ə)r\
Definition of misfire (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: a failure (as of a cartridge or firearm) to fire
2
: something that misfires
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Examples of misfire in a Sentence
Verb
their scheme to rob the bank misfired disastrously and landed them all in jailRecent Examples on the Web: Verb
The prolific partnership of Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney essentially carried an otherwise misfiring Watford squad in 2015/16. — SI.com, "Quique Sanchez Flores: Comparing the Current Watford Squad to the One the Spanish Manager Left," 12 Sep. 2019 Nerve cells misfire, leading to headache and nausea. — Aryn Baker, Time, "What It’s Like Living in One of the Hottest Cities on Earth—Where It May Soon Be Uninhabitable," 12 Sep. 2019 This is Richard Sherman's first interception not as a Seahawk The former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback also misfired on a crucial play early in the fourth quarter that could have put the Bucs in front. — Jon Becker, The Mercury News, "Jimmy vs. Jameis: Who won quarterback battle in Tampa Bay?," 8 Sep. 2019 But DeVito was forced out of the pocket on fourth-and-8 and misfired badly, giving the ball back to Locksley’s team. — Baltimore Sun Staff, baltimoresun.com, "Orange crush: Maryland football unstoppable early in historic 63-20 rout of No. 21 Syracuse," 7 Sep. 2019 Garoppolo misfired on his first two passes - the screen to Mostert and a downfield pass to WR Dante Pettis - but finished by completing his final six passes in team drills. — Eric Branch, SFChronicle.com, "49ers’ practice report: Nick Bosa impresses in camp debut," 27 July 2019 Plus: Trent Grisham arrives earlier than expected, Travis Shaw's struggles continue, and did the Brewers truly misfire with Miley and Smyly? — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Brewers Podcast: Searching for silver linings, talking trade deadline and revisiting a wild 2015 trade with Doug Melvin," 5 Aug. 2019 Ernest Stevens was vindicated on appeal, but decades later his son would say the family’s ordeal taught him that justice can misfire. — Connie Cass, Twin Cities, "Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens dies at 99," 16 July 2019 Morgan and Tobin Heath pushed time and time again again in the minutes that followed, but either misfired or had shots blocked or saved. — Alicia Delgallo, Pro Soccer USA, "USWNT wins 4th World Cup title, takes down Netherlands 2-0," 8 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The misfire ultimately didn't lead to any significant in-game damage, so everybody can laugh about it now. — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Nine moments that made Milwaukee Brewers fans fall in love with Jesús Aguilar," 31 July 2019 Most of the time, the camera misfires, capturing not critters but other, more mundane but still ghostly movement — usually branches bobbing in a silent wind. — Ryan Bradley, New York Times, "Letter of Recommendation: Bushnell Trophy Cam," 18 Jan. 2018 Deer Park’s 25th point in Game 2 was the result of her first misfire. — Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, "Lady Deer defeats Clear Springs for a second time after 3-1 triumph," 14 Aug. 2019 But even Bergman’s early efforts, when the style is still not entirely his own, to say nothing of his later misfires, inform our understanding of this towering figure. — David Mermelstein, WSJ, "‘Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema’ Review: On Blu-ray, Scenes From a Master," 4 Dec. 2018 There were a lot of misfires, drops and throws into tight coverage toward the end of practice. — Bob Mcmanaman, azcentral, "Kyler Murray daily report: Cardinals quarterback gives up pick-six, but finishes strong," 31 July 2019 There were a number of other original (non-franchise) box office misfires, including Stuber, the buddy action comedy, which Disney inherited from the Fox inventory, which earned only $8 million when it was released on July 12. — Paula Bernstein, Fortune, "Disney Dominates—and Other Takeaways From the Summer Box Office So Far," 31 July 2019 The biggest misfire is a subplot that follows Stephen and his wife Celeste’s (T’Nia Miller) teenage daughter Bethany (Lydia West), who wears a device that projects emoji-like digital masks that resemble Snapchat filters over her face. — Judy Berman, Time, "HBO's Quasi-Dystopian Years and Years Is the Future Liberals Fear," 22 June 2019 That has raised the stakes for every game under development and has increased the risk if even one of them slows down or misfires. — Dan Gallagher, WSJ, "‘Fortnite’ Effect: The Game Never Ends," 15 Feb. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'misfire.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for misfire
misfire
verb
English Language Learners Definition of misfire
of an engine
: to fail to work properly because the fuel mixture burns at the wrong time
of a gun
: to fail to fire properly : to fail to shoot a bullet
: to fail to have an intended effect : to fail to work properly
See the full definition for misfire in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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