"backfires" in the noun sense
1. blowback, backfire
the backward escape of gases and unburned gunpowder after a gun is fired
2. backfire
a loud noise made by the explosion of fuel in the manifold or exhaust of an internal combustion engine
3. backfire
a fire that is set intentionally in order to slow an approaching forest fire or grassfire by clearing a burned area in its path
4. backfire, boomerang
a miscalculation that recoils on its maker
"backfires" in the verb sense
1. backfire, backlash, recoil
come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect
"Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble"
"the political movie backlashed on the Democrats"
2. backfire
emit a loud noise as a result of undergoing a backfire
"My old car backfires all the time"
3. backfire
set a controlled fire to halt an advancing forest to prairie fire
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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