bushfire

/ˈbʊʃ.faɪər/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈbʊʃ.faɪr/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈbu̇sh-ˌfī(-ə)r How to pronounce bushfire (audio)/ (ame, mw)

bushfire — noun

1. a large outdoor fire that races through scrub or other wild land and is very har

1.名詞B2
釋義

a large outdoor fire that races through scrub or other wild land and is very hard to bring under control

例句

After weeks without rain, a bushfire tore through the hills outside Perth.

collocation: bushfire tore through [area]

Fire crews built a line overnight to keep the bushfire away from nearby farms.

collocation: keep a bushfire away from [place]

同義詞
  • wildfire

    the broader term for a large uncontrolled fire in natural land

  • brushfire

    often suggests a fire burning through low bushes or dry scrub

  • forest fire

    specifically refers to a wildfire burning in wooded areas

文法句型

a bushfire + verb (spreads, tears through, burns)

bushfire warning / bushfire season

fight / contain / escape a bushfire

用法筆記

Common in Australian English for dangerous fires in bush or scrubland. It is used for outdoor wild-land fires, not for ordinary fires inside buildings.

常見錯誤

❌A bushfire started in the hotel kitchen.
✅A fire started in the hotel kitchen.
💡'bushfire' is only used for outdoor fires burning through bush or scrub land.

2. a destructive problem, feeling, or idea that moves through a group or place extr

2.名詞C1
釋義

a destructive problem, feeling, or idea that moves through a group or place extremely fast before people can stop it

例句

Panic spread through the market like a bushfire after the false report.

pattern: spread like a bushfire

By lunchtime, the rumor was already a bushfire in every classroom.

pattern: become a bushfire

同義詞
  • wave

    suggests something moving across many people, but not always with damage or loss of control

  • surge

    focuses on a sudden rise, while 'bushfire' stresses uncontrolled spread

  • chain reaction

    emphasises one event causing another, rather than wide social spread

文法句型

like a bushfire

a bushfire of + noun

turn into a bushfire

用法筆記

Usually appears in figurative comparisons about rumors, fear, anger, or conflict spreading quickly and causing trouble.

常見錯誤

❌The new idea was a bushfire because everyone liked it.
✅The new idea spread like a bushfire because everyone shared it.
💡This figurative sense stresses rapid, hard-to-control spread, not simply popularity.