bonfire
Americannoun
-
a large fire built in the open air, for warmth, entertainment, or celebration, to burn leaves, garbage, etc., or as a signal.
-
any fire built in the open.
noun
Etymology
Origin of bonfire
1375–1425; late Middle English bone fire, i.e., a fire with bones for fuel
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
About a year ago, a group of us started holding bonfires at dedicated clearings in the woods, nowhere near enough to houses for parents to come nosing around our flickering flames.
From Literature
Beyond the sticky-sweet mounds of garbage, plumes of sharp-smelling smoke rose into the sky: bonfires from the human village, signaling the start of All Hallows’ Eve.
From Literature
He obeyed and burned the project files in a bonfire on the beach.
Although violence has occasionally occurred at the beach, a popular hangout near LAX known for large parties and bonfires, the surrounding area has had lower violent-crime rates, historically, than other parts of the city.
From Los Angeles Times
They had built a bonfire to guide me during the night.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
