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Definition of bonfire noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

bonfire

noun
 
/ˈbɒnfaɪə(r)/
 
/ˈbɑːnfaɪər/
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  1. a large outdoor fire for burning waste or as part of a celebration
    • There will be a bonfire and a firework display.
    • Tell the neighbours before you light the bonfire in case they're in the garden.
    Topics Religion and festivalsb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • blazing
    • roaring
    verb + bonfire
    • build
    • have
    • make
    bonfire + verb
    • blaze
    • burn
    See full entry
    Word Originlate Middle English: from bone + fire. The term originally denoted a large open-air fire on which bones were burnt (sometimes as part of a celebration), also one for burning heretics or proscribed literature. Dr Johnson accepted the mistaken idea that the word came from French bon ‘good’.
See bonfire in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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