catch fire
Idioms-
Be ignited, as in This wood is dry enough to catch fire . [c. 1600] Also see set on fire .
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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 U.S. jobs market took a sharp turn for the worse in 2025, and it doesn’t look like hiring will catch fire in the new year.
From MarketWatch
The U.S. jobs market took a sharp turn for the worse in 2025, and it doesn’t look like hiring will catch fire in the new year.
From MarketWatch
He fled when the house behind his childhood home caught fire.
From Los Angeles Times
The novel and others in the genre caught fire on social media in 2022, fueled by the success of “Icebreaker” by British author Hannah Grace.
Warriors caught fire in the second half to turn the game on its head, running in four unanswered tries to deliver arguably the greatest European win in their history.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
