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

Two machines resembling robotic vacuum cleaners sped around a ring colliding, shooting sparks and catching fire, as Iranian engineering students watched from behind plexiglass.

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The children laughed as their marshmallows caught fire.

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Hegseth's post included videos that appear to several vessels catching fire after being struck by US munitions.

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And then, while driving from Guadalajara to Sayulita, Mexico, it caught fire from a combination of weight, heat and tire friction, and burned to the ground.

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The post was accompanied by a video that appears to show a boat catching fire after being struck by a US bomb.

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Related Words

• burn 
• inflame 
• kindle