0 past simple and past participle of backfire
1 (of a plan) to have the opposite result from the one you intended:
2 (of an engine) to make a loud noise as a result of fuel burning too early:
The concentration on softness and the absence of microscopic life as criteria of purity backfired.
Moves to counter potential disloyalty among the troops backfired, giving rise to discontent even where none had previously existed.
If a strike by residents were prolonged or if it backfired and resulted in their dismissal, the strike might interfere with their board certification.
The tactic of moving outside the bureaucracy backfired.
Instead, the government's plan backfired to an extent.
In fact, as part of a strategic retreat that was resented by a large segment of its constituency, it may actually have backfired.
Attempts by the military to intimidate the peasantry into submission at times backfired.
Attempts to appeal to smallholders and the urban middle class, however, backfired.
