- fire
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 destructive flamesADJECTIVE▪ big, huge▪ fierce, raging▪ serious▪ catastrophic, devastating, disastrous▪ house, kitchen▪ bush, forest, wild-land (AmE)▪ electricalVERB + FIRE▪ be on▪
The house is on fire!
▪ catch▪A lantern was knocked over and the barn caught fire.
▪ cause, set sth on, start▪Groups of rioters attacked and set the police headquarters on fire.
▪ ignite, spark▪A missile ignited a fire that burned for three days.
▪ fan▪Strong winds fanned the fire.
▪ add fuel to, fuel (both figurative)▪Frustrated ambitions can fuel the fire of anger and resentment.
▪ extinguish, put out▪ douse, smother▪The sprinkler system came on and doused the fire.
▪ fight▪He joined the crowds of men and women fighting the fire.
▪ contain, control▪Firefighters struggled to control the fire.
▪ prevent▪ be damaged by, be damaged in, be destroyed by, be destroyed in▪The factory was destroyed in a fire started by arsonists.
▪ be killed by, be killed in, die in▪ surviveFIRE + VERB▪ occur▪ break out, erupt, start▪A fire broke out in the mail room.
▪ go out▪ blaze, burn, rage▪The fire burned for three days before it was finally contained.
▪ engulf sb/sth, spread, sweep through sth▪In 1925 a disastrous fire swept through the museum.
▪ lick sth, lick at sth▪The fire licked the roof of the house.
▪ damage sth▪ consume sth, destroy sth, gut sth▪The fire gutted the building, leaving just a charred shell.
FIRE + NOUN▪ safety▪legislation related to fire safety
▪ hazard, risk▪Foam-filled couches are a serious fire hazard.
▪ drill, practice (BrE)▪We have regular fire drills.
(see also fire alarm)▪ brigade (BrE), department (AmE), service (BrE)▪Call the fire brigade/department!
▪ crew▪Fire crews arrived and began to fight the flames.
▪ chief, commissioner, marshal, officer, official▪ station▪ engine, truck (AmE)▪ hydrant▪ hose, sprinkler▪ extinguisher▪ escape▪The thief got away down the fire escape.
▪ door▪ damage▪The building suffered extensive fire damage.
▪ code (AmE)▪fire code violations
▪ prevention▪ season (esp. AmE)▪In 2008, the fire season started with a huge fire in New Mexico.
PHRASES▪ bring a fire under control▪Firefighters have now managed to bring the fire under control.
▪ set fire to sth▪Someone had set fire to her car.
2 burning fuel for cooking/heatingADJECTIVE▪ blazing, crackling, hot, roaring, warm▪ dying, smouldering/smoldering▪ flickering▪ little▪ open▪ charcoal, coal, log, oil, wood▪ camp (usually campfire)▪ cookingVERB + FIRE▪ build, make▪ kindle, light▪Kim had managed to kindle a little fire of dry grass.
▪ feed, poke, stir, stoke, stoke up, tend▪She fed the fire with the branches next to her.
▪On cold nights we stoked up the fire to a blaze.
▪ put sth on▪Put some more wood on the fire.
▪ cook on, cook over▪When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.
FIRE + VERB▪ burn▪Although it was summer a fire burned in the hearth.
▪ roar▪A fire roaring in the hearth added warmth to the room.
▪ kindle, light▪We had plenty of dry wood, so the fire lit easily.
▪ die, die down▪The fire was beginning to die down.
▪ burn itself out, burn out, go out▪ crackle▪ glow▪ flicker▪ smoke▪The fire smoked instead of burning properly.
PHRASES▪ the glow from a fire, the glow of a fire▪The interior was only lit by the golden glow of the fire.
3 (esp. BrE) apparatus for heating roomsADJECTIVE▪ electric, gasVERB + FIRE▪ light, put on, switch on, turn on▪Use a match to light the gas fire.
▪ switch off, turn offFIRE + VERB▪ be off, be on▪Is the fire still on?
4 shots from gunsADJECTIVE▪ heavy, withering (esp. AmE)▪ anti-aircraft, covering, friendly▪The commandos pushed forward under the covering fire of their artillery.
▪Several soldiers were killed in friendly fire due a mistake by allied forces.
▪ enemy, hostile▪ direct, indirect▪ incoming▪ automatic▪ rapid▪ artillery, sniper▪ cannon, machine-gun, mortar, rifle… OF FIRE▪ burst▪a burst of machine-gun fire
VERB + FIRE▪ open▪The troops opened fire on the crowd.
▪ return▪She returned fire from behind the low wall.
▪ exchange▪ cease, hold▪‘Cease fire!’ He yelled.
▪They were told to hold their fire until the enemy came closer.
▪ be under, come under▪We were under constant fire from enemy snipers.
▪The EU came under fire from the US over its biotech policy. (figurative)
▪ draw▪A few soldiers were sent out to draw (= attract) the enemy's fire.
▪ avoid, dodgeFIRE + VERB▪ rain down▪Enemy fire continued to rain down.
▪ hit sb/sthPHRASES▪ be in the line of fire▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}Unfortunately he was in the line of fire (= between the people shooting and what they were shooting at) and got shot.
verbADVERB▪ blindly, indiscriminately, randomly, wildly▪She fired blindly into the mass of shadows.
▪ directly▪A dense volley of missiles was fired directly at the ship.
▪ rapidly▪ continuously, repeatedly▪ accidentally▪ accurately▪ wide▪Whitlock purposely fired wide.
▪ back▪ off▪They fired off a volley of shots.
VERB + FIRE▪ be ready to▪He grabbed the shotgun, ready to fire if anyone entered.
▪ order sb to▪He ordered the troops to fire over the heads of the crowd.
PREPOSITION▪ at▪She fired a revolver at her attacker.
▪ into▪He fired the gun into the air.
▪ on, upon▪The police fired on protesters in the square.
Fire is used with these nouns as the object: ↑agent, ↑ammunition, ↑arrow, ↑assistant, ↑barrage, ↑beam, ↑blank, ↑bullet, ↑cannon, ↑clay, ↑employee, ↑engine, ↑flare, ↑furnace, ↑grenade, ↑gun, ↑imagination, ↑laser, ↑manager, ↑missile, ↑mortar, ↑pistol, ↑pottery, ↑question, ↑revolver, ↑rifle, ↑rocket, ↑round, ↑shell, ↑shot, ↑shotgun, ↑staff, ↑torpedo, ↑volley, ↑weapon, ↑worker
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
