misfire

views updated Jun 11 2018

mis·fire • v. / misˈfīr/ [intr.] (of a gun or missile) fail to discharge or fire properly. ∎  (of an internal combustion engine) undergo failure of the fuel to ignite correctly or at all: the car would misfire occasionally from the cold. ∎  (esp. of a plan) fail to produce the intended result: the killer didn't know that his plan had misfired. ∎  (of a nerve cell) fail to transmit an electrical impulse at an appropriate moment.• n. / ˈmisˌfīr/ a failure of a gun or missile to fire correctly or of fuel in an internal combustion engine to ignite.

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