bonfire
part of speech
noun (a bonfire, bonfires)
meaning for a pupil
A bonfire is a large outdoor fire, made to burn rubbish or for a celebration. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life in the UK and NZ, Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Night) in November has bonfires and fireworks; in Ireland bonfires are lit on Halloween or midsummer; in the USA and Canada people have bonfires at camps and beaches. In safety lessons: keep well back, never throw things like aerosol cans into a bonfire, an adult must be in charge, and know stop, drop and roll if clothes catch fire. In science: burning is a chemical change that needs fuel, heat and oxygen. Phrases: Bonfire Night, light a bonfire, around the bonfire.
examples
- We toasted marshmallows by the bonfire. tree →
- Keep back from the bonfire. tree →
- On Bonfire Night we watched the fireworks. tree →
- Dad lit a bonfire to burn the dry leaves. tree →
- Check bonfires for hedgehogs before lighting them. tree →
- Never throw spray cans on a bonfire. tree →
- We sang songs around the bonfire. tree →
- The bonfire crackled and sparks flew up. tree →
- That was a fine place to make a bonfire, only the gardener was too busy just then to attend to it. tree →
note
Countable. One word. A bonfire is bigger than a campfire. Hedgehogs and other small animals often hide in bonfire piles, so check before lighting.
In the corpora
- A bonfire pile should be checked for hedgehogs just before it is lit, or moved to a new spot.
- Bonfire Night on 5 November in Britain remembers a failed plot to blow up Parliament in 1605.
- In Britain 5 November is Bonfire Night, remembering a plot in 1605 to blow up Parliament.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «bonfire» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.