What does misfired mean?
Misfired is the past tense of misfire and describes a failure to function as intended. Its most literal use is mechanical: an engine, cylinder, gun, or other device may misfire when it fails to fire, discharge, or operate correctly. The word also has a figurative use for any plan, message, performance, or action that produces no useful result or fails to generate the response its creator intended. In this sense, it often suggests a problem with timing, coordination, execution, or circumstances rather than a complete absence of effort. The term is especially common in technical and automotive contexts, where identifying the failed component can be important, but it is equally effective in descriptions of events that have conspicuously gone wrong. Its precise meaning can also be captured by the related noun misfire, which names the failure itself.
To fail to fire, discharge, or operate as intended.
"The rifle misfired, and the shooter checked the mechanism before trying again."
Usually transitive or intransitive in technical contexts; figurative uses describe a failed plan, message, or performance.
Having failed to fire or operate as intended.
"The mechanic replaced the misfired injector."
Most often used attributively in technical descriptions, such as a misfired engine or misfired cylinder.
A misfire is what happens when something has every intention of working but simply refuses to go off.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of misfired
Misfire is an English compound formed from the prefix mis-, meaning wrongly or incorrectly, and fire. Fire descends from Old English fyr, fyre, a Germanic word with cognates in other Germanic languages. The compound has been extended beyond literal combustion to describe failures in engines, firearms, machinery, and, figuratively, plans and performances.
Related word forms
How misfired is actually used
The word is usually technical when referring to machinery or weapons, and figurative uses commonly describe a plan, message, or performance that fails to have the intended effect.
Easily confused with misfired
A misfire is the failure itself or the device that fails to fire, while misfired is the past-tense or adjective form describing the failure.