noun
bonfire
BON-feye-uh
noun
1
A large outdoor fire, often lit for celebration or to burn unwanted material.
"We gathered around the bonfire and told stories all night."
"They lit a bonfire to burn the fallen leaves."
How to Use Bonfire
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA big fire built outside, whether for a party, a celebration, or clearing away rubbish.
Common pairings
light a bonfire
gather around a bonfire
Word Forms
bonfired past tense, bonfires plural, bonfires singular
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Etymology
From Middle English bonnefyre, literally "bone fire" — a fire in which bones were burned, later generalized to any large outdoor fire.