✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!

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
While extinguishing the brush fire, crews found the body nearby that had received significant burns. Enquirer Staff, Cincinnati Enquirer, 16 Nov. 2025 What began as a small brush fire on federal land soon roared into an inferno that would later reignite as the Palisades Fire, scorching more than 200 acres across the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2025 All evacuation orders and warnings were lifted Thursday afternoon after firefighters stopped the forward progress of a brush fire that broke out east of Ramona, Cal Fire officials said. Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Oct. 2025 The real Henry indeed died in a brush fire incident, but there's no evidence that Ed had any involvement in his brother's death. Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 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 29 Nov. 2025.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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