mis·fire
ˌmis-ˈfī(-ə)r 
misfired; misfiring; misfires
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
mis·fire
ˌmis-ˈfī(-ə)r
ˈmis-ˌfī(-ə)r
1
: a failure (as of a cartridge or firearm) to fire
2
: something that misfires
Examples of misfire in a Sentence
Verb
their scheme to rob the bank misfired disastrously and landed them all in jail
Recent Examples on the Web
Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2026
Manchester United The disappointment of 2024-25 was somewhat rectified by a summer spent remodelling a misfiring attack.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 21 May 2026
Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
There was a lot of concern about celebrity intrusions taking the focus off the players and game, and the Zac Brown misfire was everything fans feared and then some.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for misfire
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Verb
The rocket’s upper stage was supposed to fire its engines two times to inject AST’s satellite into the proper orbit, but the stage misfired on the second burn, stranding the payload in a lower-than-planned orbit.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2026
Manchester United The disappointment of 2024-25 was somewhat rectified by a summer spent remodelling a misfiring attack.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 21 May 2026
Noun
There is a third way to see how badly the deregulatory cost-benefit framing misfires—one that works from the bottom up rather than the top down.
—Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
There was a lot of concern about celebrity intrusions taking the focus off the players and game, and the Zac Brown misfire was everything fans feared and then some.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for misfire
Cite this Entry
“Misfire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misfire. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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