fire-eating

adjective

fire-eat·​ing ˈfī(-ə)r-ˌē-tiŋ How to pronounce fire-eating (audio)
: violent or highly militant in disposition, bearing, or policy
a fire-eating radical

Word History

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fire-eating was in 1811

Dictionary Entries Near fire-eating

Cite this Entry

“Fire-eating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fire-eating. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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


Which Came First?

  • baby chick with a brown egg
  • hot take or cold shoulder?
Spell It

Hear a word and type it out. How many can you get right?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can with using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

Can you make 12 words with 7 letters?

PLAY