fireball
Syllables: fi·re·ball/ˈfaɪəbɔːl//ˈfaɪəɹˌbɔl/
fireball noun: a ball of fire, especially one associated with an explosion, or (fiction, mythology) thrown as a weapon.
Noun
fireball (plural fireballs)
- A ball of fire, especially one associated with an explosion, or (fiction, mythology) thrown as a weapon.
- He placed his arms in a blocking position, but even so, the fireball threw all three of them, Kylie, Percival, and Kelly, onto the wall.2008, Franklin Newman, “Sleeping with the Enemy”, in The Princess of Flourae (The Knights of Callistor; 2), [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 90
- At 7:45 p.m. there was a sudden “whooshing” noise, and a mercilessly intense fireball exploded from under the escalator, ballooned up into the ticket hall and ignited all combustible material in the area. As a result of the flashover of the fireball, the temperature rose by several hundred degrees...2011, Nick Bracken, Sue Black, “King’s Cross Underground Fire, November 18, 1987”, in Sue Black, G. Sunderland, Lucina Hackman, Xanthé Mallett, editors, Disaster Victim Identification: Experience and...
- A feisty, strong-willed person.
- But ſure in a family it bodeth moſt bad, vvhen tvvo firebals (huſbands and vvives anger) come both together.1642, Thomas Fuller, “The Good Wife”, in The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC, book I, paragraph 2, page 2
- Her folks have a lot of money. I've never seen her, but she must be quite a fireball.1954 October 3, Dorothy Cooper, “Bud Takes Up the Dance”, in Father Knows Best, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Betty (Rhoda Williams), New York, N.Y.: CBS, →OCLC
- Synonym of fastball (“a high-speed pitch of a baseball”).
- Synonyms:
- fastball
- A bright glow caused by a spacecraft re-entering an atmosphere.
- A meteor bright enough to cast shadows; a bolide.
- [page 1] There ſeem to be three concentric ſtrata of our incumbent atmoſphere; in vvhich, or betvveen them, are produced four kinds of meteors; lightning, ſhooting ſtars, fire-balls, and northern lights. […] [page 2] Dr. [Charles] Blagden has related the hiſtory of another large meteor, or...1791, [Erasmus Darwin], “Additional Notes. Note I.—Meteors.”, in The Botanic Garden; a Poem, in Two Parts. […], London: J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, part I (The Economy of Vegetation), pages 1–2
- In December 1997, a fireball passed eastward before dawn over the southwestern corner of Greenland, and then blew up into at least four fragments. Just five days later, according to reports from Colombia, three fireballs struck Bogotá, one of them causing the death of four children by setting their...2003, Trevor Palmer, “Catastrophes on Earth”, in Perilous Planet Earth: Catastrophes and Catastrophism through the Ages, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, section C (From...
- Synonyms:
- bolis
- A class of sailing dinghy with a single trapeze and a symmetrical spinnaker, sailed by a crew of two.
- A bag or ball filled with combustible material which is thrown as a weapon or to set something alight.
- [T]he ſlingers and archers together, vvith others alſo tumbling dovvne huge ſtones, vvith firebrands and fireballs, ſet them further off.1609, Ammianus Marcellinus, “[The XXIIII. Booke.] Chapter VII. The Most Strong Assault of the Said Citie. The Painefull Toyle, Industrie, and Fortitude, as well of the Besiegers as Besieged. At...
- An emanation of St. Elmo's fire; also (later), of ball lightning.
- [T]here vvas ſuch a Tempeſt & thunder vvith great firebals of lightning, that the vault of the church brake, and halfe the Chancell vvas carried avvay.1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], “Henrie the Fourth, King of England, and France, […]”, in The History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. […], London...
- It is an obſervation of Seamen, That if a ſingle meteor or fireball falls on their maſt, it portends ill luck; but if tvvo come together (vvhich they count Caſtor and Pollux) they preſage good ſucceſſe: […]1642, Thomas Fuller, “The Good Wife”, in The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC, book I, paragraph 2, page 2
- A ball-shaped firelighter (“small block of a flammable substance, typically a combination of sawdust and wax, used to light fires”).
- A ball of heat-resistant material placed in a fire to slow down the burning of the fuel.
- A statement intended to cause dissension or as a provocation.
Adjective
fireball (not comparable)
Verb
fireball (third-person singular simple present fireballs, present participle fireballing, simple past and past participle fireballed)
- To attack (someone or something) with balls of fire.
- To explode in a ball of fire or flame.
- The car swerved off a road, hit a wall, and fireballed as the petrol tank exploded.
- On Feb. 24, [Yaroslava] Mahuchikh (pronounced ma-GU–chi-huh or ma-HU-chick) was startled awake by shuddering booms in Dnipro, her hometown, in east-central Ukraine. Russia had begun its invasion. An explosion, caught on video, fireballed into the dark sky. Dnipro's airport and area military...2022 July 15, Jeré Longman, “‘Sometimes I am crying in the room’”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Aug 2024
- To emerge suddenly; to explode.
- But the swoon was only brief. [Klay] Thompson scorched his way to 27 first-half points, the Warriors fireballed back into a 17-point lead and a statement half was sealed from the deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep left corner, early in the clock and without a dribble – vintage Klay, vintage Warriors.2019 March 9, Anthony Slater, “Five Observations from the Warriors’ 122–105 Win over the Nuggets”, in The Athletic, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, archived from the original on 13 Aug...
- To pitch a baseball very fast.
fireball meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
fireball in Hindi
- फायरबॉल, फ़ायरबॉल
fireball in Tamil
- fireball
- பந்தம் pantam
fireball in Marathi
- फायरबॉल, अग्निगोलक, फायरबॉलला
fireball in Urdu
- فائر بال
More languagesFewer languages
- fireball in Bengali
- ফায়ারবল
- fireball in Telugu
- ఫైర్బాల్, ఫైర్ బాల్
- fireball in Malayalam
- ഫയർബോൾ
- fireball in Kannada
- ಫೈರ್ಬಾಲ್
- fireball in Punjabi
- ਅੱਗ ਦਾ ਗੋਲਾ, ਫ਼ਾਇਰਬਾਲ
- fireball in Gujarati
- અગનગોળો agangoḷo
- fireball in Odia
- ଅଗ୍ନିଗୋଲକ, ଫାଯ଼ାରବଲ୍
- fireball in Nepali
- फायरबोल, फायरबॉल
- fireball in Tagalog
- pabilog na apoy
- fireball in Arabic
- كُرَة نَارِيَّة kura nāriyya
- fireball in Persian
- آذرگوی âzarguy, آتشگوی âtaš-guy
- fireball in Thai
- ลูกไฟ lûuk-fai
Examples of fireball in a sentence
- As a result of the flashover of the fireball, the temperature rose by several hundred degrees in a matter of seconds, and it was believed that it reached 600°C with zero visibility.2011, Nick Bracken, Sue Black, “King’s Cross Underground Fire, November 18, 1987”, in Sue Black, G. Sunderland, Lucina Hackman, Xanthé...
- He threw up his arms to cover his head as the surge of energy created by the fireball threw him aside.2014 October, Don Pendleton [pseudonym], chapter 14, in Maximum Chaos (A Gold Eagle Book; The Executioner; 431), Don Mills, Ont.: Worldwide...
- At the time of this photo, Royal Marine Gunner Bryan Gasson is pretty much dead centre in this photo, and yes, that means he is literally inside that socking great fireball as the magazines detonate.2021 March 14, Drachinifel [pseudonym], 1:05:17 from the start, in The Drydock – Episode 137, archived from the original on 08 Nov 2022:
- In December 1997, a fireball passed eastward before dawn over the southwestern corner of Greenland, and then blew up into at least four fragments.2003, Trevor Palmer, “Catastrophes on Earth”, in Perilous Planet Earth: Catastrophes and Catastrophism through the Ages, Cambridge...
Synonyms of fireball
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
10 more antonymsFewer antonyms
Forms of fireball
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | fireballs |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | fireballs |
| present participle | fireballing |
| past participle | fireballed |
| past | fireballed |
Origin of fireball
The noun is derived from fire (noun) + ball (noun). The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.
Words formed from fireball
Questions about fireball
- What does fireball mean?
- Fireball means a ball of fire, especially one associated with an explosion, or (fiction, mythology) thrown as a weapon.
- What is fireball in Hindi?
- Fireball in Hindi is फायरबॉल, फ़ायरबॉल. See Fireball meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use fireball in a sentence?
- As a result of the flashover of the fireball, the temperature rose by several hundred degrees in a matter of seconds, and it was believed that it reached 600°C with zero visibility.
- What part of speech is fireball?
- Fireball can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce fireball?
- Fireball is pronounced /ˈfaɪəbɔːl/ (UK).
- What is the plural of fireball?
- The plural of fireball is fireballs.
Words near fireball in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: fireball (page history and authors); fireball (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); பந்தம் (Tamil) (page history and authors); fireball (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fireball (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fireball (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fireball (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fireball (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fireball (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fireball (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); અગનગોળો (Gujarati) (page history and authors); fireball (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fireball (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-fireball.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-fireball.wav.
Cite this entry: “fireball.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fireball. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.