misfire

Either a univerbation of earlier miss fire, or the compound mis- +‎ fire (or possibly a confluence of both).

• (noun) IPA^(key): /ˈmɪsfaɪ(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (verb) IPA^(key): /mɪsˈfaɪ(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)

misfire (plural misfires)

1. An act of misfiring.

misfire (third-person singular simple present misfires, present participle misfiring, simple past and past participle misfired)

1. (firearms) To fail to discharge properly.
2. (of an engine) To fail to ignite in the proper sequence.
3. (by extension) To fail to achieve the anticipated result.

   His practical joke misfired and he nearly burnt my left hand.

• back fire
• backfire
• hang fire