fire
noun
verb (used with object), fired, fir·ing.
verb (used without object), fired, fir·ing.
Verb Phrases
- to discharge (as weapons, ammunition, etc.): Police fired off canisters of tear gas.
- to write and send hurriedly: She fired off an angry letter to her congressman.
Idioms for fire
- Also catch on fire. to become ignited; burn: The sofa caught fire from a lighted cigarette.
- to create enthusiasm: His new book did not catch fire among his followers.
- to be delayed in exploding, or fail to explode.
- to be undecided, postponed, or delayed: The new housing project is hanging fire because of concerted opposition.
- to fail to explode or discharge, as a firearm.
- to fail to produce the desired effect; be unsuccessful: He repeated the joke, but it missed fire the second time.
- ignited; burning; afire.
- eager; ardent; zealous: They were on fire to prove themselves in competition.
- to cause to burn; ignite.
- to excite; arouse; inflame: The painting set fire to the composer's imagination.
- to become ignited; burn.
- to become inspired with enthusiasm or zeal: Everyone who heard him speak immediately took fire.
- under attack, especially by military forces.
- under censure or criticism: The school administration is under fire for its policies.
Origin of fire
OTHER WORDS FROM fire
fir·er, noun coun·ter·fire, noun, verb (used without object), coun·ter·fired, coun·ter·fir·ing. re·fire, verb, re·fired, re·fir·ing. un·fired, adjectiveWords nearby fire
Example sentences from the Web for fire
But what is there more irresponsible than playing with the fire of an imagined civil war in the France of today?
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President |Pierre Assouline |January 9, 2015 |DAILY BEASTLady Edith is so sad that her sadness nearly set the whole damned house on fire.
‘Downton Abbey’ Review: A Fire, Some Sex, and Sad, Sad Edith |Kevin Fallon |January 5, 2015 |DAILY BEASTA fire that he insists is only picking up pace, according to top-secret intelligence briefings.
An F-35 was destroyed on takeoff earlier in the year when a design flaw in its Pratt & Whitney F135 engine sparked a fire.
On Christmas Day, sometime after dark, a hideous fire overtook the venue: 100 firefighters, 33 fire trucks, a four-alarm blaze.
The Fiery Death of Sotto Sotto, Toronto’s Celebrity Hotspot |Shinan Govani |December 30, 2014 |DAILY BEASTShe laid Joy down in a corner of the ravine the furthest removed from the fire; she could not have carried her another inch.
Gypsy's Cousin Joy |Elizabeth Stuart PhelpsTo have a fire without a fire-engine is like being married at a registry-office.
Slip it carefully on a hot dish and serve the instant it comes from the fire.
The Story of Crisco |Marion Harris NeilI will give you what I have written, and if you choose to read it and do not like it, you can throw it into the fire.
The House of Martha |Frank R. StocktonShe started to pick busily, while Walter, taking the fish that had been cleaned, began to broil them over the fire.
The Motor Girls in the Mountains |Margaret Penrose
British Dictionary definitions for fire
noun
- a mass of burning coal, wood, etc, used esp in a hearth to heat a room
- (in combination)firewood; firelighter
- the act of discharging weapons, artillery, etc
- the shells, etc, fired
- to delay firing
- to delay or be delayed
- in a state of ignition
- ardent or eager
- informal playing or performing at the height of one's abilities
- to ignite
- to arouse or excite
verb
sentence substitute
Derived forms of fire
fireable, adjective fireless, adjective firer, nounWord Origin for fire
Medical definitions for fire
v.
Idioms and Phrases with fire
In addition to the idioms beginning with fire
- fire away
- fire off
- fire on all cylinders
- fire up
also see:
- add fuel to the fire
- ball of fire
- baptism of fire
- catch fire
- caught in the cross-fire
- draw fire
- fat is in the fire
- fight fire with fire
- get on (like a house afire)
- hang fire
- hold one's fire
- hold someone's feet to the fire
- irons in the fire
- light a fire under
- line of fire
- miss fire
- no smoke without fire
- on fire
- open fire
- out of the frying pan into the fire
- play with fire
- set on fire
- set the world on fire
- spread like wildfire
- trial by fire
- under fire
- where's the fire
Also see underfiring.