bonfire
A large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal.
Other meanings
A fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items; originally , heretics or other offenders, or banned books; now, generally agricultural or garden waste, or rubbish.
Something like a bonfire (sense 1 or 2) in heat, destructiveness, ferocity, etc.
Related words
- bonfirelike
- Bonfire Night
- Bonfire Island
- bonfire of the vanities
- bonfire society
- bonfire boy
- piss on someone's bonfire
- bonfire toffee
- bonfire tree
Example sentences
Word history
From Middle English "bonnefyre" (a fire in which bones are burnt, bonfire).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “bonfire” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.