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

The first fire is being investigated as suspected arson, and Cambridgeshire Police has appealed for information.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 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

In another case involving the bureau, a black Labrador named Spike who was trained to detect fire accelerants in arson investigations overheated after a sergeant left him in a car for more than four hours.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

There were no injuries reported or indications of arson, Atenza said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

The fire department suspected arson; police theorized that whoever set the fire had wanted to destroy the secrets still embedded within.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

None of the arsons have been linked to any of the larger wildfires burning throughout the county, according to Pamela Johnson, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2025

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

When the arsons in Oregon began, the S.I.U. joined a working group with a half-dozen other law-enforcement agencies, including the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, to crack the case.

From New York Times ● May 26, 2022

On Mars there are no murders, arsons, robberies, forgeries, slanders, and other crimes and misdeeds, for they have progressed beyond them.

From A Book Written by the Spirits of the So-Called Dead by C. G. (Carl Gustaf) Helleberg

Related Words

• torching