spitfire

spit·fire

S s

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [spit-fahyuh r]
- /ˈspɪtˌfaɪər/
- /ˈspɪtfaɪə/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [spit-fahyuh r]
- /ˈspɪtˌfaɪər/

Definitions of spitfire word

noun spitfire a person, especially a girl or woman, who is of fiery temper and easily provoked to outbursts. 1
noun spitfire (initial capital letter) a British fighter plane with a single in-line engine used by the R.A.F. throughout World War II. 1
noun spitfire hot-tempered person 1
noun spitfire a person given to outbursts of spiteful temper and anger, esp a woman or girl 0
noun spitfire a person, esp. a woman or girl, who is easily aroused to violent outbursts of anger 0

See all 5 definitions of spitfire

Information block about the term

Origin of spitfire

First appearance:

before 1590

One of the 37% oldest English words

First recorded in 1590-1600; spit1 + fire

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Spitfire

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Spitfire

spitfire popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 53% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

spitfire usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for spitfire

noun spitfire

amazon — In Greek mythology, the Amazons were a tribe of women who were very good at fighting.
amazons — a river in N South America, flowing E from the Peruvian Andes through N Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean: the largest river in the world in volume of water carried. 3900 miles (6280 km) long.
backbiter — to attack the character or reputation of (a person who is not present).
calumniator — to make false and malicious statements about; slander.
fire-eater — an entertainer who pretends to eat fire.

All 16 Synonyms of spitfire