arson

American  

[ahr-suhn] / ˈɑr sən /

noun

• arsons
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• arsonist
  noun
• arsonous
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• arsons
  plural

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

See Examples For:

arson arsons

Public prosecutors in America's second biggest city, unhappy about the result, leveled new charges: destruction of property by means of fire and arson affecting property used in interstate commerce.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

His wife, Melissa Matthews, says she feels a sense of "closure" to discover that the blaze that destroyed her home may have been set intentionally by a man who is now accused of arson.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

A lawsuit filed by Lemus’ daughter last month claims that Barragan and other top commanders were warned of “training deficiencies” within the arson explosives detail before the incident.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said authorities arrested Aaron Farinacci, a 37-year-old Spokane resident, on a first-degree arson charge related to one of three major fires burning in the eastern Washington area.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Celia has judged 193 cases since she was elected to the People’s Court, from petty thievery and family disputes to more serious crimes of medical malpractice, arson, and counterrevolutionary activities.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

Jane Lee from the Keighley Civic Society has previously called for more security measures at the mill to prevent further trespass and arsons.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2024

There were 18 reports of arson for 2022, twice the total of 2021 and 61% higher than the 11 arsons reported in 2018.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 14, 2022

He thinks the person responsible could have been one of those detained last month in a string of arsons in North Hollywood, or possibly someone evicted from the house in the flyer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2022

Those numbers included structure fires and other fires, not all of them arsons.

From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2022

Crimes, murders, thefts and arsons can only be prevented by the enforcement of the law.

From The Crime of the Century or, The Assassination of Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin by Henry M. Hunt

Related Words

• torching