fireballnoun/ˈfaɪəbɔːl/

• 1

  A ball of fire, especially one associated with an explosion, or (fiction, mythology) thrown as a weapon.

  • He placed his arms in a blocking position, but even so, the fireball threw all three of them, Kylie, Percival, and Kelly, onto the wall.
  • At 7:45 p.m. there was a sudden “whooshing” noise, and a mercilessly intense fireball exploded from under the escalator, ballooned up into the ticket hall and ignited all combustible material in the area. As a result of the flashover of the fireball, the temperature rose by several hundred degrees in a matter of seconds, and it was believed that it reached 600°C with zero visibility.
• 2

  informalA feisty, strong-willed person.

  • But ſure in a family it bodeth moſt bad, vvhen tvvo firebals (huſbands and vvives anger) come both together.
  • Her folks have a lot of money. I've never seen her, but she must be quite a fireball.
• 3

  ball-gamesbaseballgamesSynonym of fastball (“a high-speed pitch of a baseball”).

• 4

  aerospaceastronauticsbusinessA bright glow caused by a spacecraft re-entering an atmosphere.

• 5

  astronomynatural-sciencesA meteor bright enough to cast shadows; a bolide.

  • [page 1] There ſeem to be three concentric ſtrata of our incumbent atmoſphere; in vvhich, or betvveen them, are produced four kinds of meteors; lightning, ſhooting ſtars, fire-balls, and northern lights. […] [page 2] Dr. [Charles] Blagden has related the hiſtory of another large meteor, or fire-ball, vvhich vvas ſeen the 18th of Auguſt, 1783, vvith many ingenious obſervations and conjectures.
  • In December 1997, a fireball passed eastward before dawn over the southwestern corner of Greenland, and then blew up into at least four fragments. Just five days later, according to reports from Colombia, three fireballs struck Bogotá, one of them causing the death of four children by setting their home ablaze.
• 6

  nauticalsailingtransportA class of sailing dinghy with a single trapeze and a symmetrical spinnaker, sailed by a crew of two.

• 7

  historicalengineeringgovernmentmilitaryA bag or ball filled with combustible material which is thrown as a weapon or to set something alight.

  • [T]he ſlingers and archers together, vvith others alſo tumbling dovvne huge ſtones, vvith firebrands and fireballs, ſet them further off.
• 8

  historicalengineeringgovernmentheraldryA bag or ball filled with combustible material which is thrown as a weapon or to set something alight.

fireballadj/ˈfaɪəbɔːl/

• 1

  slangExcellent, terrific.

  • "Give us a hand," said Mack. "How's she look?" / "Fireball," said Eddie.

fireballverb/ˈfaɪəbɔːl/

• 1

  fantasyfictionliteratureTo attack (someone or something) with balls of fire.

• 2

  To explode in a ball of fire or flame.

  • The car swerved off a road, hit a wall, and fireballed as the petrol tank exploded.
  • On Feb. 24, [Yaroslava] Mahuchikh (pronounced ma-GU–chi-huh or ma-HU-chick) was startled awake by shuddering booms in Dnipro, her hometown, in east-central Ukraine. Russia had begun its invasion. An explosion, caught on video, fireballed into the dark sky. Dnipro's airport and area military facilities had come under attack.
• 3

  To emerge suddenly; to explode.

  • But the swoon was only brief. [Klay] Thompson scorched his way to 27 first-half points, the Warriors fireballed back into a 17-point lead and a statement half was sealed from the deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep left corner, early in the clock and without a dribble – vintage Klay, vintage Warriors.
• 4

  ball-gamesbaseballgamesTo pitch a baseball very fast.