under fire

Idioms  

1. Criticized or held responsible, as in The landlord is under fire for not repairing the roof. This expression originally referred to being within range of enemy guns; its figurative use dates from the late 1800s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

under fire

The university's administration is under fire over its alleged mishandling of the October 2024 incident and, according to US media, now faces a no-confidence vote by Cornell faculty.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

“A homemade ballistic missile made in record time under fire was used on the battlefield,” said Iryna Terekh, the chief executive of Fire Point, the company that manufactured the missile.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

But the idea that oxygen has always been beneficial for all eukaryotes has come under fire in recent years.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026

Two ads promoting Converse’s global Chuck 70 X campaign came under fire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

A few days after the barn-raising a letter came from Shadrach Yale in which he too discussed General McClellan, from the viewpoint of a young soldier who had just known his first experience under fire.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

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