catch fire

1. Be ignited, as in This wood is dry enough to catch fire . [c. 1600] Also see set on fire .

2. Become inflamed with enthusiasm or passion, as in His ideas caught fire all over the country . [Early 1700s]

Example Sentences

“When I was smashing my guitars, we liked to pretend that everything was catching fire, so Bob Pridden, our road manager and sound man, would set off smoke bombs,” Townshend says.

From Los Angeles Times

More troubles for the cargo ship that caught fire earlier this month off Alaska’s Aleutian Island chain.

From Los Angeles Times

Parts of the engine appeared to explode at one stage, and flaps on the side of the rocket caught fire and swung from side-to-side.

From BBC

If the items, “catch fire in the cargo area where checked bags are transported, there’s no one there to put it out,” Daniel Velez, spokesperson for Florida’s TSA, told the Florida Times-Union.

From Los Angeles Times

A neighbor who had stayed to battle the blaze with a garden hose reported that a nearby tree had caught fire.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• burn 
• inflame 
• kindle