fire
fire — noun
1. the condition of burning, in which flames, heat, and light are produced — the ba
the condition of burning, in which flames, heat, and light are produced — the basic physical process of something being alight.
The old shed was destroyed by fire last night.
Smoke from the fire could be seen from three kilometres away.
The fire spread quickly through the dry forest.
collocation: fire spreads
Trang put more wood on the fire to keep it burning.
pattern: put wood on the fire
- catch fire
- on fire
- set fire to
- fire spreads
- put out a fire
2. an event in which something unwanted burns and is damaged or destroyed, such as
an event in which something unwanted burns and is damaged or destroyed, such as a house, building, or area of forest.
A fire broke out in the kitchen of the restaurant.
collocation: a fire breaks out
Firefighters arrived quickly and put the fire out within an hour.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Hyun's family lost their home in a house fire last winter.
compound: house fire
Three people were rescued from the burning building by the fire brigade.
- house fire
- forest fire
- fire breaks out
- fire brigade
- put out a fire
Usage Note
Use this sense (countable) when referring to a specific fire event. Use sense 1 (uncountable) when referring to the general substance or process of burning.
Common Mistakes
3. a small, controlled pile of burning wood, coal, or other fuel, used outdoors or
a small, controlled pile of burning wood, coal, or other fuel, used outdoors or in a fireplace for warmth or cooking.
The campers sat around the campfire telling stories all night.
compound: campfire
Élise lit a fire in the fireplace to warm the living room.
pattern: light a fire
The children sat around the fire and toasted marshmallows on long sticks.
We built a small fire on the beach to cook fish.
- light a fire
- build a fire
- campfire
- open fire
- log fire
Usage Note
Distinguish from sense 2 (DESTRUCTIVE FIRE): this sense describes a safe, intentional fire for warmth or cooking, not an unwanted, damaging one.
4. a room heater that runs on gas or electricity and keeps indoor spaces warm.
a room heater that runs on gas or electricity and keeps indoor spaces warm.
Omar turned on the gas fire in the sitting room.
British usage: gas fire
The electric fire in the bedroom was making a strange noise.
We need to service the fire before winter comes.
Vivek switched the fire off before leaving the house.
- gas fire
- electric fire
- turn on the fire
- turn off the fire
Usage Note
This sense is most common in British English. In American English, 'heater' or 'space heater' is more typical. Often used with 'gas' or 'electric' as a compound: 'gas fire', 'electric fire'.
5. bullets, shells, or missiles released from guns, rifles, and similar weapons, es
bullets, shells, or missiles released from guns, rifles, and similar weapons, especially during military combat.
The soldiers came under heavy fire from the hills.
collocation: under fire
Enemy fire forced the team to pull back.
The sound of distant fire could be heard all night.
Paloma trained for weeks in how to return fire safely.
collocation: return fire
- enemy fire
- under fire
- return fire
- open fire
- heavy fire
Usage Note
Uncountable. Frequently appears in military and security contexts. 'Under fire' also has a figurative meaning — see the idiom-like phrase 'come under fire' (meaning to be criticised).
6. the moment when someone begins shooting a weapon at a target, especially in a mi
the moment when someone begins shooting a weapon at a target, especially in a military or combat situation.
The troops opened fire on the advancing vehicles.
pattern: open fire on [target]
Police officers are trained not to open fire unless necessary.
Darius ordered his men to hold their fire until the enemy was within range.
collocation: hold fire
Aarav ordered his soldiers to hold their fire until the signal.
antonym: hold fire
- open fire
- hold fire
- cease fire
- burst of fire
Grammar Patterns
open fire on/at [someone/something]
Usage Note
Most often encountered in the fixed phrase 'open fire' (begin shooting) and 'hold your fire' (wait before shooting). The noun itself rarely stands alone in this sense without the verb 'open' or 'hold'.
Common Mistakes
7. a very strong feeling of anger, enthusiasm, passion, or energy that makes someon
a very strong feeling of anger, enthusiasm, passion, or energy that makes someone act with intensity.
Her speech was full of fire and moved the audience to tears.
collocation: full of fire
The fire in his voice showed how strongly he felt about justice.
The team showed tremendous fire and determination in every game.
collocation: fire and determination
The young painter's eyes burned with creative fire.
Ezra spoke with such fire that even the doubters began to believe.
pattern: speak with fire
- full of fire
- fire in the belly
- with fire
- creative fire
- fire and passion
- apathy
lack of interest or emotion, opposite of the energy in this sense
Usage Note
Uncountable or singular only. Often used in the fixed phrase 'fire in [one's] belly', meaning strong desire to succeed. This is a figurative extension — the speaker is comparing strong feeling to a burning flame.
8. harsh words or strong written comments that attack someone or something, express
harsh words or strong written comments that attack someone or something, expressing serious disapproval.
The new policy came under heavy fire from opposition MPs.
collocation: come under fire (figurative)
The CEO faced a fire of angry questions from shareholders.
His article drew fire from readers across the country.
collocation: draw fire
Yasmin's proposal was met with a fire of complaints.
- come under fire
- draw fire
- a fire of criticism
- face fire
- praise
positive feedback; the opposite of harsh criticism
Usage Note
Uncountable. Always figurative — the speaker compares criticism to being shot at. Common collocations: 'come under fire', 'draw fire', 'a fire of [questions/criticisms]'. Distinguish from sense 7 (PASSION), which is about strong positive or neutral feeling, not attack.
Common Mistakes
A person who is very energetic and enthusiastic.
Maya is a ball of fire who never stops moving.
Even at 70, Grandpa is a ball of energy on the tennis court.
baptism of fire
idiomA difficult first experience in a new job or activity.
His first day as a teacher was a baptism of fire.
The rookie soldier faced a baptism of fire in his first battle.
draw somebody’s fire
idiomTo attract someone's anger or criticism away from others.
The manager drew the team's fire to protect his assistant.
She drew the critics' fire by defending the controversial policy.
fight fire with fire
idiomTo use the same methods as your opponent in a conflict.
In the debate, he fought fire with fire and attacked her record.
The company fought fire with fire by launching a similar product.
A strong determination to achieve something.
You need fire in your belly to succeed in sales.
Her fire in the belly drove her to win the championship.
To become very good friends quickly.
Sara and Diego got on like a house on fire at the party.
The new neighbors and I got on like a house on fire.
hang/hold fire
idiomTo delay taking action or making a decision.
The committee decided to hold fire on the new policy.
We should hang fire until we have more information.
To be involved in multiple projects or opportunities at once.
Brian has several irons in the fire, including a startup and a book.
She always keeps many irons in the fire to ensure success.
If there are rumors about something, there is usually some truth behind them.
People are talking about the scandal; there's no smoke without fire.
The rumors about the merger might be true — no smoke without fire.
on fire
idiomExperiencing a painful burning sensation.
After the run, his legs were on fire.
Her skin felt on fire after touching the hot pan.
To go from a bad situation to an even worse one.
He left his job for a worse one, out of the frying pan into the fire.
Moving to that city was out of the frying pan into the fire.
play with fire
idiomTo take unnecessary and dangerous risks.
Investing all your money in one stock is playing with fire.
She knew lying to the boss was playing with fire.
To achieve great success and be admired by many.
Her novel set the literary world on fire.
He didn't set the world on fire, but he had a steady career.
fire — verb
1. to cause a gun, bow, or other weapon to send out bullets, arrows, or similar pro
to cause a gun, bow, or other weapon to send out bullets, arrows, or similar projectiles.
The soldier fired his rifle at the target.
David fired three shots into the air as a warning.
collocation: fire shots
Hyun is learning how to fire a bow and arrow safely.
The police ordered the man not to fire.
intransitive use
Trang fired at the target and hit the centre.
pattern: fire at [target]
- fire a gun
- fire a shot
- fire at
- fire into the air
- fire a weapon
Grammar Patterns
fire + weapon
fire at + target
Usage Note
Can be used transitively (fire a gun / fire an arrow) or intransitively (Don't fire!). The weapon is the object, not the person being shot. To say someone was shot, use 'shoot', not 'fire'.
Common Mistakes
❌ 'He fired me.' (ambiguous — this means he dismissed me from my job, not that he shot at me). Make context clear.
2. to direct a quick series of questions, criticisms, or remarks at someone, often
to direct a quick series of questions, criticisms, or remarks at someone, often in an intense or aggressive way.
The journalists fired questions at the minister as she left the building.
pattern: fire questions at [someone]
Eli fired off an angry email to his manager.
phrasal variant: fire off
During the debate, each candidate fired criticisms at the other.
The teacher fired one maths problem after another at the class.
- fire questions
- fire criticisms
- fire off
- fire at someone
- pepper with questions
similar metaphor but suggests many questions from multiple directions
- bombard
an even stronger word; 'bombard someone with questions'
Grammar Patterns
fire + questions/criticisms + at + person
Usage Note
Figurative extension of sense 1 (DISCHARGE WEAPON). The rapid questions/criticisms are compared to bullets. Common collocation: 'fire off' + (letter/email/message), meaning to send it quickly, often in anger.
3. to make someone leave their job, often because they performed poorly or the empl
to make someone leave their job, often because they performed poorly or the employer needs to spend less money.
The company fired ten employees after the merger.
Paloma was fired from her job for arriving late too often.
passive: be fired from [job]
The boss threatened to fire anyone who used the phone for personal calls.
Vivek got fired after only two weeks at the company.
- get fired
- fire someone
- fire from a job
- fire for [reason]
Grammar Patterns
fire + person + from + job
Usage Note
Informal. The formal equivalent is 'dismiss' or 'terminate (someone's) employment'. Commonly used in the passive: 'get fired' is very frequent. Not used in extremely formal writing (e.g. legal documents). 'You're fired!' became famous from the TV show The Apprentice.
Common Mistakes
4. to create a strong feeling such as excitement, enthusiasm, passion, or determina
to create a strong feeling such as excitement, enthusiasm, passion, or determination in someone — like lighting a fire in their mind or heart.
The coach's speech fired the team with determination to win.
pattern: fire [someone] with [emotion]
The documentary fired her imagination and made her want to travel.
collocation: fire the imagination
Omar's stories about space exploration fired the children's curiosity.
Trang was fired by a deep desire to help her community.
passive: be fired by [desire]
- fire the imagination
- fire with enthusiasm
- fired by passion
- fire someone's interest
- dampen
to reduce enthusiasm or excitement
Grammar Patterns
fire + someone + with + emotion
fire + someone + to do something
Usage Note
Literary and formal feeling. Common collocation 'fire someone's imagination' (make someone excitedly interested). Passive form 'be fired by [an emotion]' is also frequent. Distinguish from sense 7 of the noun (PASSION) — this is the verb form of the same metaphorical idea.
5. to place clay objects in a very hot oven (kiln) so they become permanently hard
to place clay objects in a very hot oven (kiln) so they become permanently hard and can be used as pots, bowls, or bricks.
The potter fired the bowls in a kiln at over a thousand degrees.
Yasmin learned how to fire clay pots during her ceramics class.
collocation: fire clay
The tiles must be fired twice to achieve the right finish.
If you do not fire the clay long enough, it will crack.
- fire clay
- fire pottery
- fire in a kiln
- fire tiles
- fired ceramics
Grammar Patterns
fire + clay object
Usage Note
Technical term in pottery and ceramics. Not used for cooking food — that is 'bake' or 'cook'. The noun 'firing' (as in 'the first firing of the kiln') is also common in this context.
Common Mistakes
6. to make something start burning, either on purpose or by accident, setting it al
to make something start burning, either on purpose or by accident, setting it alight.
Someone fired the barn and it burned to the ground.
collocation: fire a building
The protestors fired several cars during the street clashes.
Sparks from the train wheels fired the dry grass beside the track.
pattern: sparks fire [dry vegetation]
Emily carefully fired the pile of leaves with a match.
- fire a building
- fire a car
- fire the woods
- set fire to
the much more common phrase for this meaning
- set alight
British English; similar meaning
- ignite
formal or technical; 'ignite a fuel'
- extinguish
to put out a fire
- put out
everyday phrasal verb for stopping a fire
Grammar Patterns
fire + object
Usage Note
Less common than 'set fire to' or 'set on fire' in everyday speech. More frequent in formal writing, news reports, or historical contexts. The noun phrase 'set fire to' is much more common for the same meaning.
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
All four words describe the process of something being alight, but they differ in scope and intensity. 'Fire' is the broadest, everyday word for the general phenomenon — 'a fire in the fireplace' or 'the fire spread quickly'. 'Flame' refers specifically to the visible, flickering tongues of burning gas: 'the flames rose high into the night sky'. 'Blaze' suggests a large, hot, dramatic fire — news reports use 'blaze' for house fires and forest fires to add intensity: 'firefighters fought the blaze for hours'. 'Burning' is the most general process-oriented word and can describe anything consumed by heat, from skin to wood to fuel. 'Combustion' is a formal, scientific term for the chemical reaction between fuel and oxygen. In daily life, use 'fire' for most situations, 'flame' when you want to picture the visible burning gas, and 'blaze' when the fire is notably large or destructive. For example: 'She watched the fire in the grate' (neutral), 'The flames licked at the logs' (picturing the tongues of fire), and 'The blaze destroyed three houses' (dramatic, newsworthy).
Common collocations
Phrases
- catch fire
- on fire
- set fire to
- open fire
- cease fire
- hold fire
- under fire
- draw fire
- come under fire
- play with fire
- fight fire with fire
Prepositions
- on fire
- under fire
- fire at
- fire into
Etymology
The word 'fire' comes from Old English 'fȳr', which goes back to a very ancient root in the Proto-Indo-European language *péh₂wr̥. This root for fire appears in many other languages: Greek 'pyr' (as in 'pyromaniac'), Latin descendants, and even modern Welsh 'tân'. The spelling settled to 'fire' by Middle English. The word has been used in English for over a thousand years, and its figurative meanings — for strong emotion (fire in the belly), shooting weapons (to fire a gun), and dismissing someone (to fire an employee) — all developed gradually from the original physical meaning of burning.