fire

fire¹ W1S1 [faıə US faır] n

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1¦(flames that destroy things)¦

2¦(flames for heating/cooking etc)¦

3¦(heating equipment)¦

4¦(shooting)¦

5¦(be attacked)¦

6¦(emotion)¦

7 fire in your belly

8¦(sick/injured)¦

9 light a fire under somebody

10 go through fire (and water) (for somebody)

11 fire and brimstone

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[: Old English; Origin: fyr]

1.) ¦(FLAMES THAT DESTROY THINGS)¦ [U and C]

uncontrolled flames, light, and heat that destroy and damage things

▪ The warehouse was completely destroyed by fire.

▪ Thirty people died in a fire in downtown Chicago.

▪ Police think that the fire was started deliberately.

▪ Rioters set fire to a whole row of stores.

▪ Sparks from the fireplace could easily set the curtains on fire .

▪ The house is on fire !

▪ It took firefighters several hours to put out the fire .

▪ Residents were evacuated when fire broke out in a block of flats yesterday.

▪ One of the plane's engines had caught fire .

▪ People were throwing water on the flames, but the fire was burning more strongly every minute.

▪ smoke from smouldering fires

▪ A massive forest fire is still raging in western Java.

2.) ¦(FLAMES FOR HEATING/COOKING ETC)¦

burning material used to heat a room, cook food etc, or get rid of things you do not want

▪ Can you put another log on the fire?

by the fire/in front of the fire

▪ Come and sit in front of the fire.

▪ a log fire

▪ a coal fire

▪ a camp fire (=when you are camping)

make/build/start/light a fire

▪ You put up the tent and I'll make a fire.

▪ An open fire (=a fire that burns wood or coal in a fireplace) was burning in the front room.

▪ Mr Trotter sat by the roaring fire .

▪ the dying embers of the fire (=pieces of wood, coal etc that have almost been completely burned)

3.) ¦(HEATING EQUIPMENT)¦ BrE

a machine that produces heat to warm a room, using gas or electricity as power

▪ a gas fire

▪ an electric fire

turn the fire on/off

▪ Turn on the fire, I'm cold.

turn the fire up/down

(=make it hotter or colder)

4.) ¦(SHOOTING)¦[U]

shots fired from a gun, especially many guns at the same time

▪ Troops opened fire on (=started shooting at) the demonstrators.

▪ These women did vital work, often under enemy fire .

▪ The rebels agreed to hold their fire (=not shoot) .

→be in the line of fire at ↑line¹ (35)

5.) ¦(BE ATTACKED)¦

be/come under fire

a) to be severely criticized for something you have done - used in news reports

▪ Rail chiefs came under fire after raising train fares for the second time this year.

b) to be shot at

be/come under fire from

▪ Our patrol came under fire from rooftop gunmen.

6.) ¦(EMOTION)¦[U]

a very strong emotion that makes you want to think about nothing else

fire of

▪ the fire of religious fanaticism

7.) fire in your belly

a strong desire to achieve something

▪ Three years later, Ali returned to boxing with a new fire in his belly.

8.) ¦(SICK/INJURED)¦

be on fire

literary a part of your body that is on fire feels very painful

9.) light a fire under sb

AmE spoken to do something that makes someone who is being lazy start doing their work

10.) go through fire (and water) (for sb)

old-fashioned to do something very difficult and dangerous for someone

11.) fire and brimstone

a phrase describing Hell, used by some religious people

→↑ceasefire,add fuel to the fire/flames at ↑add, fight fire with fire at ↑fight¹ (18), get on like a house on fire at ↑house¹ (13), hang fire at ↑hang¹ (12), play with fire at ↑play¹ (26), set the world on fire at ↑world¹ (22), there's no smoke without fire at ↑smoke¹ (5)

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COLLOCATES for sense 1

start a fire (=deliberately make a fire start burning)

set fire to something/set something on fire (=deliberately make something start burning)

be on fire (=be burning)

put out a fire (=stop a fire burning)

fight a fire (=try to make a fire stop burning)

a fire breaks out (=a fire starts suddenly)

something catches fire (=something starts burning)

a fire burns

a fire goes out (=a fire stops burning)

a fire rages/blazes (=a fire burns strongly for a long time over a large area)

a fire smoulders (=a little smoke comes from a fire, when it has almost gone out)

forest fire (=a very large fire in a forest)

brush fire (=a very large fire in an area of grass)

house fire

WORD FOCUS: fire

a big fire that causes a lot of damage: blaze, inferno, conflagration (literary)

someone whose job is to put out fires: firefighter, fireman, the fire department (AmE), the fire brigade (BrE)

See also: flame

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fire ²

fire² W3S3 v

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1¦(shoot)¦

2¦(job)¦

3¦(excite)¦

4¦(questions)¦

5 wood-fired/gas-fired/coal-fired

6¦(clay)¦

7¦(engine)¦

8 be firing on all cylinders

Phrasal verbs

　fire away

　fire back

　fire something<=>off

　fire somebody<=>up

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1.) ¦(SHOOT)¦ [I and T]

to shoot bullets or bombs

fire at/on/into

▪ Soldiers fired on the crowd.

fire sth at sb

▪ The police fired two shots at the suspects before they surrendered.

fire a gun/weapon/rifle etc

(=make it shoot)

▪ the sound of a gun being fired

fire bullets/missiles/rockets etc

▪ Guerrillas fired five rockets at the capital yesterday, killing 23 people.

2.) ¦(JOB)¦ [T]

to force someone to leave their job

British Equivalent: sackbe/get fired

▪ She didn't want to get fired.

fire sb from sth

▪ I've just been fired from my job, and I don't know what to do.

fire sb for sth

▪ The airline fired him for being drunk.

3.) ¦(EXCITE)¦ [T]

to make someone feel interested in something and excited about it

= ↑inspire

be fired with enthusiasm

▪ I was fired with enthusiasm to go traveling in Asia.

fire sb's enthusiasm/imagination

▪ stories of magic and adventure that fire children's imaginations

4.) ¦(QUESTIONS)¦

fire questions at sb

to ask someone a lot of questions quickly, often in order to criticize them

5.) wood-fired/gas-fired/coal-fired

using wood, gas, or coal as ↑fuel

▪ a gas-fired stove

▪ a coal-fired boiler

6.) ¦(CLAY)¦ [T]

to bake bricks, clay pots etc in a ↑kiln

▪ fired earthenware

7.) ¦(ENGINE)¦

if a vehicle's engine fires, the petrol is lit to make the engine work

8.) be firing on all cylinders [i]informal

to be thinking or doing something well, using all your mental abilities and energy

▪ When the team's firing on all cylinders, they can beat the best in the league.

fire away phr v

[only in imperative] spoken

used to tell someone that you are ready to answer questions

▪ 'Do you mind if I ask you something, Woody?' 'Fire away.'

fire back phr v

to quickly and angrily answer a question or remark

fire back at

▪ President Bush has fired back at his critics.

fire off [fire sth<=>off] phr v

1.) to shoot a bullet, bomb etc into the air

▪ Chuck reloaded and fired off both barrels.

▪ Mexicans have a tradition of firing off guns to welcome in the new year.

2.) to quickly send an angry letter to someone

▪ I fired off a furious letter to the editor.

fire up [fire sb<=>up] phr v

to make someone become very excited, interested, or angry

▪ It was alarming the way she got so fired up about small things.