From Fresh Dictionary
English
Verb
to backfire (third-person singular simple present backfires, present participle backfiring, simple past backfired, past participle backfired)
- (of a gun or cannon) to fire in the opposite direction, for example due to an obstruction in the barrel
- to fail in a manner that brings down further misfortune.
- His attempt to make money by importing luxury cars horribly backfired when fuel prices tripled.