baptism of fire

American  

noun

1. spiritual sanctification as a gift of the Holy Ghost.

2. the first time a soldier faces battle.

3. any severe ordeal that tests one's endurance.

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baptism of fire British  

noun

1. a soldier's first experience of battle

2. any initiating ordeal or experience

3. Christianity the penetration of the Holy Ghost into the human spirit to purify, consecrate, and strengthen it, as was believed to have occurred initially at Pentecost

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baptism of fire Idioms  

1. A severe ordeal or test, especially an initial one, as in This audition would be Robert's baptism of fire. This term transfers the original religious rite of baptism, whereby holiness is imparted, to various kinds of ordeal. At first it signified the death of martyrs at the stake, and in 19th-century France it was used for a soldier's first experience of combat. Currently it is used more loosely for any difficult first encounter.

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Etymology

Origin of baptism of fire

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

baptism of fire

Balfe: It was a bit of a baptism of fire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026

Michael Carrick looked to have been handed a baptism of fire with Manchester City and Arsenal dished up in the first two games of his reign.

From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026

For the Ukrainian troops who came to the UK this has been more of a conversion course rather than a baptism of fire.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2022

It has been a baptism of fire for Scholz, who is known for his cautious public style.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 26, 2022

In some cases the candidate for immortality ran through blazing streams of fire—a custom which was called "the baptism of fire."

From The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors Or, Christianity Before Christ by Kersey Graves