brush·fire | \ ˈbrəsh-ˌfī(-ə)r 
\
\Definition of brushfire
(Entry 1 of 2)
: involving mobilization only on a small and local scale
brushfire border wars
brush fire
nounDefinition of brush fire (Entry 2 of 2)
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: Noun Firefighting planes swooped low to drop pink retardant on the brush fire, and officials warned that drones were interfering with some of the aerial attacks.
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Colleen Shalby, Los Angeles Times, "Brush fire briefly forces evacuations around Sign Hill in South San Francisco," 16 Oct. 2020 Firefighters first responded to the brush fire Friday afternoon near Forest Service Road 24 and Sears Kay Ranch.
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Audrey Jensen, The Arizona Republic, "3 homes, 5 outbuildings, several vehicles burned down in 9,200-acre Sears Fire," 28 Sep. 2020 Be aware of a road closure due to a brush fire burning in the riverbed in @CityofSantee.
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Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Fire in riverbed in Santee prompts evacuations," 10 Sep. 2020 The Glass Fire, which began as a 20-acre brush fire near Deer Park overnight, could spread further by winds that are expected throughout the day, Cal Fire said.
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Chuck Johnston And Eric Levenson, CNN, "Napa County brush fire rapidly grows to at least 800 acres, forcing evacuations," 27 Sep. 2020 Charlton said a separate 10-acre brush fire off Oregon 213 and Spangler Road that started Tuesday night was mostly contained.
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Jamie Goldberg | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, "Wildfires in Clackamas County threaten more than 600 structures; thousands of people ordered to evacuate," 9 Sep. 2020 On Sunday afternoon, police were called to assist Portland firefighters with a brush fire burning along the I-205 freeway.
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Anthony Leonardi, Washington Examiner, "Police: Portland man arrested twice for starting multiple brush fires, including one with Molotov cocktail," 14 Sep. 2020 Fire crews are bracing for weather conditions that could make the brush fire more difficult to fight.
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San Diego Union-Tribune, "Firefighters tackle Valley fire for fourth day, still 3 percent contained," 8 Sep. 2020 In April of this year, a gender reveal party in Florida also led to a 10-acre brush fire.
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Elly Belle, refinery29.com, "Gender Reveal Parties Were Already A Bad Idea. Now They’re Causing Wildfires.," 8 Sep. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brushfire.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for brushfire
The first known use of brushfire was in 1850
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