arson

American  

[ahr-suhn] / ˈɑr sən /

noun

1. Law. the malicious burning of another's house or property, or in some statutes, the burning of one's own house or property, as to collect insurance.

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arson British  

/ ˈɑːsən /

noun

1. criminal law the act of intentionally or recklessly setting fire to another's property or to one's own property for some improper reason

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Other Word Forms

• arsonist noun
• arsonous adjective

Etymology

Origin of arson

First recorded in 1670–80; from Anglo-French, Old French, from Late Latin ārsiōn-, stem of ārsiō “a burn,” from ārs(us) “burned” (past participle of Latin ārd(ere) “to burn”; ardent ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

Viramontes shared the photo he took of the woman with arson investigators.

From Los Angeles Times

He and his wife Jessica, who is also French, are suspected of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.

From BBC

Tens of thousands of homes in Berlin will be without electricity until Thursday as authorities struggle to repair power cables seriously damaged in a suspected arson attack, officials said.

From Barron's

“I don’t think he has any motivation right now other than arson and chaos,” Wilson told MSNOW’s Ali Velshi last week.

From Salon

“I encountered six to eight rekindles during my career and each time the local battalion chiefs showed up to try and convince the investigators it was arson.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• torching