wildfire

[ wahyld-fahyuhr ]

noun

1. any large fire in brush, forests, or open spaces that spreads rapidly and is hard to extinguish.
2. a highly flammable composition, such as Greek fire, difficult to extinguish when ignited, formerly used in warfare.
3. sheet lightning, unaccompanied by thunder.
4. the ignis fatuus or a similar light.
5. Plant Pathology. a disease of tobacco and soybeans, characterized by brown, necrotic spots, each surrounded by a yellow band, on the leaves and caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas tabaci.
6. Pathology Obsolete. erysipelas or some similar disease.

wildfire

/ ˈwaɪldˌfaɪə /

noun

1. a highly flammable material, such as Greek fire, formerly used in warfare
2. 1. a raging and uncontrollable fire
   2. anything that is disseminated quickly (esp in the phrase spread like wildfire )
3. lightning without audible thunder
4. another name for will-o'-the-wisp

Word History and Origins

Origin of wildfire¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English wildefire, Old English wildfȳr; equivalent to wild + fire

Idioms and Phrases

see spread like wildfire .

Example Sentences

Many — who have had several close calls with wildfire before — knew instantly that this could spell disaster.

From Los Angeles Times

“The great majority of homes that burn in wildfires are already in flaming ruins by the time the fire reaches the town,” said Chad Hanson, a wildfire scientist and the director and principal ecologist at the John Muir Project.

From Los Angeles Times

A brief drizzle Sunday evening gave firefighters a short break but did not make a long-term dent in drought conditions or wildfire risks.

From Slate

The Catskill watershed is experiencing its largest wildfire on record, with nearly 650 acres burned.

From Slate

The Jennings Creek wildfire, on the border of New York and New Jersey, has burned 5,000 acres so far.

From Slate

Related Words

• blaze
• conflagration
• flare
• flash
• light
• spark