fire

fire1 [ faır ] noun ***

▸ 1 uncontrolled burning

▸ 2 controlled burning

▸ 3 shooting with gun

▸ 4 strong feeling

▸ 5 equipment for heating

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) count or uncount flames and heat from something that is burning in an uncontrolled way:

The school was badly damaged by fire.

Three children died in a fire at their home last night.

be destroyed by fire: The theater was completely destroyed by fire.

start a fire: It is thought that lightning may have started the fire.

fight/tackle/put out a fire: Twenty firefighters tackled the fire.

a fire breaks out: 43 people died when a fire broke out in a Paris nightclub.

a forest fire: The hot dry weather has increased the risk of forest fires.

2. ) count a small pile of burning wood, coal, etc. that you make in order to produce heat:

a coal fire

make/build a fire: We went off to collect wood to build a fire.

light a fire: Once the fire was lit, the room seemed more cozy.

a blazing/roaring fire: We sat in front of a blazing log fire.

3. ) uncount shots from a gun:

We heard a sudden loud burst of machine-gun fire.

The police arrived on the scene, and there was an exchange of fire.

4. ) uncount FORMAL strong feelings especially anger or enthusiasm:

His words were full of fire and passion.

5. ) count BRITISH a piece of equipment that uses electricity or gas to heat a room

catch fire

to start burning:

The car overturned and caught fire.

come under fire

1. ) to be criticized:

The government will come under fire again when the latest employment figures are released.

2. ) to be attacked with guns:

British troops came under fire again yesterday.

draw fire

to be severely criticized:

The proposed merger is drawing fire from all sides.

fight fire with fire

to criticize someone who is criticizing you:

The President answered his critics by fighting fire with fire.

hold fire

1. ) to wait before you take action:

The Federal Reserve has decided to hold fire and not raise interest rates right now.

2. ) to not shoot at someone:

He ordered his men to hold their fire.

in the line of fire

1. ) in a position where you will be hurt if someone shoots a gun:

If anyone had started shooting, we would have been right in the line of fire.

2. ) if you are in the line of fire, you are the person who is likely to be criticized for something

on fire

burning:

The building was still on fire three hours later.

open fire

to start shooting at someone:

A gunman opened fire in a crowded shopping mall.

set fire to something or set something on fire

to make something start burning:

A group of teenagers had set fire to an old truck.

=> LIGHT 3, PLAY1

fire

fire 2 [ faır ] verb ***

▸ 1 shoot a weapon

▸ 2 make someone leave their job

▸ 3 when engine starts

▸ 4 bake clay

▸ 5 ask someone a question

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) intransitive or transitive if a weapon fires or someone fires it, someone uses it to shoot:

She squeezed the trigger, but the gun failed to fire.

fire at: Jed lifted his rifle and fired at the target.

fire on/upon: The police threatened to fire on demonstrators.

fire a gun/weapon: The rebels fired their machine guns into the air.

fire a bullet/round/shot/missile etc.: Several shots were fired, and three men were seen running away.

fire back (=shoot at someone who is shooting at you): The gunmen fired, and the police fired back.

2. ) transitive to make someone leave their job, sometimes as a punishment:

She was fired for refusing to comply with safety regulations.

He's the person responsible for hiring and firing.

3. ) intransitive if an engine fires, it starts to work

4. ) transitive to bake clay at a very high temperature so that it becomes very hard

5. ) transitive to ask someone a question, especially one that is difficult for them to answer:

fire questions at someone: Reporters fired questions at her as she left the court house.

fire away

used for giving someone permission to ask a question

fire someone's imagination

to make someone feel very interested in something and excited about it

fire someone with enthusiasm

to make someone feel very enthusiastic

firing on all cylinders

putting a lot of energy and effort into doing something

,fire `off phrasal verb transitive

1. ) to quickly send a message or give instructions:

I sat down and fired off a letter to the newspaper.

2. ) to shoot with a gun or other weapon:

The British ship fired off a few warning shots.

,fire `up phrasal verb transitive

to make someone feel very enthusiastic:

She's all fired up about this new course she's taking.