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.
A red-hot ember floated down to the dry brown pine needles at their feet, and Akira watched as the pine needles caught fire with a whoomp.
From Literature
It turned out to be a bigger event than anybody expected because the pizza-parlor ovens caught fire half an hour before the presentation.
From Literature
Among those who have died was the waitress who was seen in a video wearing a helmet and holding a champagne bottle with a sparkler attached and the ceiling catching fire.
From BBC
“All the fuels are too wet to really catch fire.”
From Los Angeles Times
The statement said a machine that he was operating near his hometown of Burnet caught fire.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
