bushfire

noun

bush·​fire ˈbu̇sh-ˌfī(-ə)r How to pronounce bushfire (audio)
Australia
: an uncontrolled fire in a bush area

Examples of bushfire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And after finishing his Ph.D. amidst the struggles of COVID and bushfires, Menário Costa decided to leave science and dive into creative work. Ari Daniel, NPR, 4 May 2024 Australian bushfires in 2019 and 2020, which scorched as much as 70,000 square miles of land and impacted nearly three billion animals, released particles called aerosols into the air that can damage the ozone layer. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 May 2024 Australia’s bushfire season of 2019-20 was unprecedented in its intensity and magnitude. Laurie Winkless, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024 The rebirth of Southern Ocean Lodge in December 2023, following the devastating 2020 bushfires, is a story of resilience and rejuvenation. Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Australia baked through an early-summer heatwave for several days in mid-December that fueled dozens of bushfires. Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 21 Dec. 2023 Other parts of the Southern Hemisphere are also experiencing an exceptionally hot spring, including Australia, which is grappling with unusually high temperatures and dozens of bushfires. Laura Paddison, CNN, 25 Sep. 2023 As the northeast battles floods, Australia’s southeast, in contrast, is on bushfire alert with temperatures expected to top 104 degrees on Tuesday in some Sydney suburbs. Reuters, NBC News, 18 Dec. 2023 Where to Stay: Two years after it was razed in the island’s bushfires, the luxurious Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island just reopened this month. Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 6 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bushfire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1832, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bushfire was in 1832

Dictionary Entries Near bushfire

Cite this Entry

“Bushfire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bushfire. Accessed 17 May. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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