catch fire
Idioms-
Be ignited, as in This wood is dry enough to catch fire . [c. 1600] Also see set on fire .
-
Become inflamed with enthusiasm or passion, as in His ideas caught fire all over the country . [Early 1700s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The idea was liable to catch fire between us.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The result, says founder and CEO Antonio Baclig, are battery cells that can’t catch fire at all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
On Thursday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said three tankers had abandoned an attempt to pass through Hormuz after an explosion aboard one of them caused it to catch fire.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
"These things, when they catch fire, they go - they really go - they are big, big issues and big fires," he added, although cabin crew are trained on how to deal with it.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
Two things were very clear to Lee: first, despite what Goll had said, no fire engines had arrived, and, second, his house was about to catch fire.
From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
