SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does spontaneous combustion mean? 

• SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION (noun)
  The noun SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION has 1 sense:

1. ignition of a substance (as oily rags) resulting from an internal oxidation process

  Familiarity information: SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Ignition of a substance (as oily rags) resulting from an internal oxidation process

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("spontaneous combustion" is a kind of...):

ignition (the process of initiating combustion or catching fire)

 Context examples 

All in that region was fire and commotion; the soup and fish were in the last stage of projection, and the cook hung over her crucibles in a frame of mind and body threatening spontaneous combustion.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)