fire up

1. Inflame with enthusiasm, anger, or another strong emotion, as in Her speech fired up the crowd in favor of her proposals . This expression dates from the early 1800s, when it referred literally to starting a fire in a furnace or boiler; its figurative use dates from the late 1800s.

2. Light a pipe, cigar, or cigarette, as in Do you mind if I fire up? [Late 1800s] A more common term, however, is light up , def. 2.

3. Start the ignition of an engine, as in Whenever he tried to fire up the motor, it stalled . [Mid-1900s]

Example Sentences

These attacks fire up the Democratic base and raise doubts among voters that he doth protest too much.

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Instead, they were able to win a major consolation prize -- turning the spotlight on an issue that fires up their base.

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A flush of money from these new investors has fired up some 43 start-up IPOs this year till the beginning of November.

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Four firefighters rushed to the jammed floodgate and struggled to fire up a backup generator.

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Penchukov says that it was business troubles and the constant payouts to Ukrainian officials that led him to once again fire up his laptop and get back into the cyber-crime life.

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Related Words

• affect 
• animate 
• arouse 
• cause 
• embolden 
• excite 
• galvanize 
• get 
• hearten 
• impress 
• influence 
• instill 
• motivate 
• produce 
• provoke 
• spark 
• spur 
• stir 
• sway 
• touch