wildfire

noun

wild·​fire ˈwī(-ə)ld-ˌfī(-ə)r 

1

: a sweeping and destructive conflagration especially in a wilderness or a rural area

2

: greek fire

3

: a phosphorescent glow (such as ignis fatuus or fox fire)

4

: a destructive leaf-spot disease of tobacco caused by several strains of a bacterium (Pseudomonas syringae)

see also:

like wildfire

Examples of wildfire in a Sentence

The recent wildfires were made worse by the strong winds.

Recent Examples on the Web

Young minds may have come up with some answers for one of Colorado's rising issues -- what to do with all that biomass from wildfire mitigation efforts? —Alan Gionet, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2026

From wildfires in Spain to a polar bear feast in Norway to a wedding amongst floods in the Philippines. —Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 9 Apr. 2026

Chen’s wildfire survivors group and Consumer Watchdog sponsored the bill, known as Assembly Bill 1744. —Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026

Incident types are numbered 1-5 — a type 1 incident is a large, complex wildfire affecting people and critical infrastructure, a type 5 incident is a small wildfire with few personnel involved. —Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 8 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing wildfire

• like wildfire
• spread like wildfire

Rhymes for wildfire

• briar
• brier
• buyer
• choir
• crier
• cryer
• drier
• dryer
• eyer
• flier
• flyer
• friar

Kids Definition

wildfire

noun

wild·​fire ˈwī(ə)l(d)-ˌfī(ə)r 

: an uncontrollable fire that destroys a wide area