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”; cf. ardent) + -iō -ion

Explanation

If you deliberately light logs on fire to roast marshmallows, you have camping skills. If you deliberately set your whole house on fire to collect the insurance money, you've committed arson. The noun arson comes from the Latin word ardere, meaning "to burn." Arson is the act of setting something on fire for a nefarious purpose, and it is, of course, illegal. If you live in a wildfire risk area, you know that sometimes wildfires are caused by natural causes like lightening, sometimes they're caused accidentally by carelessness, and sadly they're sometimes caused by a deliberate act of arson.

Example Sentences

“We’re basically being enslaved by them,” Mr. Rinderknecht said when asked by federal investigators why someone might commit arson in the Palisades.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026

The Montebello Police Department has several detectives and arson investigators working on the case, mentioning “suspicious circumstances” around the fire, according to a news release from the agency.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

The sheriff’s arson and explosives unit retrieved two abandoned grenades from the garage of a Santa Monica apartment complex on July 17.

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026

Prosecution documents say that during an interrogation in late January 2025, investigators asked him why someone might commit arson in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

I could find nothing in the incomplete newspaper records to suggest that he had been murdered, or even that the fire had been arson.

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler

Related Words

• torching