fire off

Idioms  

1. Say or write and send away rapidly, as in He fired off three more questions, or She fired off a letter of complaint to the president. This expression originally (from about 1700) was, and still is, used in the sense of “discharge a weapon or ammunition,” as in The police were instructed to fire off canisters of tear gas. The figurative use dates from the late 1800s.

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Example Sentences

She may not be fun, but she does fire off sparks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

We were getting in our cars when we heard that there was another fire, off the 101 Freeway — so we didn’t want to risk driving that way.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2025

He said it was likely airports in Spain and Portugal have independent power supplies, "which will see big diesel generators which fire off when it senses no power from its usual grid supply".

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2025

But he did fire off a post at 2 a.m. on Truth Social, his social media platform, criticizing the judge and did it again later in the day in an interview with Fox News Digital.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 27, 2024

“I would have written the blue fire off to rumor if you hadn’t been here to confirm it.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss