catch fire or light

1. To become ignited
2. To become inspired by passion or enthusiasm

catch hold of

To seize

catch it (informal)

To get a scolding or reprimand

catch me or him, etc

An emphatic colloquial phrase implying that there is not the remotest possibility of my or his, etc doing the thing mentioned

catch on

1. To comprehend
2. To become fashionable, to catch the popular imagination

catch one's breath see under breath

catch one's death see under death

catch out

To detect in error or deceit

catch sight of

To get a glimpse of

catch someone's drift

To follow and understand what someone is talking about

catch up

1. To draw level (with) and sometimes overtake
2. To bring oneself up to date with

catch up or away

To snatch or seize hastily

caught up in

Engrossed or involved in

fire /fīr/

noun

1. A substance formerly reckoned to be one of the four principal elements out of which all living things were made
2. The heat and light of burning
3. A mass of burning matter, such as fuel in a grate
4. Flame or incandescence
5. A conflagration
6. The discharging of a firearm
7. Fuel
8. A heating apparatus
9. Heat or light from sources other than burning
10. Lightning (poetic)
11. Volcanic or subterranean heat
12. Great heat
13. The heat of fever or inflammation
14. Glowing appearance
15. A sparkle of light
16. Discharge of firearms (also figurative)
17. Enthusiasm
18. Ardour
19. Passion
20. Spirited vigour or animation
21. Refraction of light in a gemstone

transitive verb

1. To ignite
2. To cause to explode
3. To expose to heat
4. To bake (pottery)
5. To cauterize (farriery)
6. To fuel
7. To affect as if by fire
8. To discharge (a firearm)
9. To send or direct (eg questions) forcefully or rapidly, as if from a firearm
10. To launch (a missile)
11. To drive out
12. To dismiss (from employment, etc)
13. To inflame
14. To animate
15. To rouse to passion of any kind

intransitive verb

1. To catch fire
2. To shoot with firearms
3. To become inflamed
4. To break out in anger
5. To make a fast, direct shot aimed merely at displacing an opponent's bowls (bowls)
6. (of a car, engine, etc) to start

fired adjective

1. Affected, or having the appearance of having been affected, with fire
2. Baked (pottery)
3. Ignited
4. Kindled
5. Discharged

fireˈless adjective

firˈer noun

A person who fires, in any sense

firˈing noun

1. Ignition
2. Discharge of guns, etc
3. Simultaneous ringing of a peal of bells
4. Fuelling
5. Firewood
6. Fuel
7. Cautery
8. Injury by overheating
9. Subjection to heat

fire alarm noun

1. An apparatus for giving warning of fire
2. A warning of fire

fire ant noun

A tropical American ant that inflicts a painful sting

fireˈarm noun

A weapon discharged by explosion (usu in pl)

fireˈ-arrow noun

A dart or arrow with an ignitable head

fireˈback noun

1. A red-backed Sumatran pheasant
2. The back wall of a fireplace
3. An ornamental plate of iron placed there

fireˈball noun

1. A burning meteor, a bolide
2. Ball lightning
3. An incendiary or illuminating projectile
4. A flaming ball of burning gases
5. The luminous sphere of hot gases at the centre of a nuclear explosion
6. A lively energetic person (informal)

fireˈ-balloon noun

1. A balloon carrying fire and raised by the heating and rarefaction of air
2. A balloon discharging fireworks in the air

fireˈ-bar noun

1. A bar of a fire-grate
2. A heating element in an electric radiator

fireˈ-basket noun

A portable fire-grate, a brazier

fireˈ-bird noun

The Baltimore oriole, or other bird of orange and red plumage

fire blanket noun

A blanket of non-flammable material for extinguishing small fires

fireˈ-blast noun

A blight of hops, due to a mite, giving a scorched appearance

fireˈ-blight noun

A bacterial disease of fruit trees, giving a scorched appearance

fireˈbomb noun

An incendiary bomb

transitive verb

To attack with incendiary bombs

fireˈbombing noun

fireˈ-bote noun (historical)

A tenant's right to cut wood for fuel

fireˈbox noun

A chamber for the fire in a steam engine, etc

fireˈbrand noun

1. A burning piece of wood
2. An energetic person
3. A person who stirs up trouble

fireˈbrat noun

A small insect found in bakehouses and other warm places

fireˈbreak noun

A strip of land kept clear to stop the spread of a fire (also figurative)

fireˈbrick noun

A brick resistant to fire, used for furnace linings, grates, etc

fire brigade noun

A body of firefighters

fire bucket noun

A bucket containing sand or water for putting out fires

fireˈbug noun (informal)

An arsonist

fire clay noun

A clay poor in lime and iron, suitable for making fire-resistant pottery and firebricks

fire control noun

A system of controlling artillery fire, esp the whole gunfire of a ship from one centre

fireˈcracker noun

A device for making a noise, a cylinder of paper or cardboard containing an explosive and a fuse

fireˈcrest or fire-crested wren noun

A bird closely related to the goldcrest

fireˈdamp noun

A combustible gas given off by coal, etc, chiefly methane

fire department noun (N American) same as fire brigade above.

fireˈdog noun

An andiron

fire door noun

1. A fire-resistant door to prevent the spread of fire within a building
2. An emergency exit

fireˈdrake noun

1. A fire-breathing dragon (literary and German myth)
2. A luminous phenomenon (archaic)
3. A kind of firework, a rocket

fire drill noun

1. A primitive instrument for making fire by twirling a stick
2. A practice in putting out or escaping from a fire

fireˈ-eater noun

1. A juggler who seems to eat fire
2. A person who looks for quarrels

fireˈ-edge noun (dialect)

1. A cutting edge hardened by fire
2. Crispness in a newly baked cake
3. First eagerness

fire engine noun

A vehicle which carries firefighters and equipment to put out fires

fire escape noun

A fixed or movable way of escape from a burning building

fire extinguisher noun

A portable device for spraying water, chemicals, foam, etc onto a fire to put it out

fireˈ-eyed adjective (Shakespeare)

Having fiery eyes

fireˈfight noun

An intense exchange of gunfire

fireˈfighter noun

A person whose job is the putting out of fires and the rescuing of people and animals in danger

fireˈfighting noun

1. The job of a firefighter
2. Dealing with events as they arise, without long-term planning (figurative)

fireˈ-flag or fireˈ-flaught noun (literary)

A flash of fire, lightning, etc

fireˈfloat noun

A boat or raft used in harbours for extinguishing fires

fireˈfly noun

Any of various nocturnal insects which emit phosphorescent light

fireˈ-grate noun

A grating to hold a fire

fireˈguard noun

A protective wire frame or railing in front of a fireplace

fireˈ-hook noun

A hook formerly used to tear down burning buildings

fire hose noun

A hose for extinguishing fires

fireˈhouse noun (obsolete)

1. A house with a fireplace, a dwelling-house
2. A fire station (US)

fire insurance noun

Insurance against loss by fire

fire irons plural noun

Fireside implements, ie poker, tongs, shovel, not necessarily of iron

fireˈlight noun

The light of a (usu domestic) fire

fireˈlighter noun

A piece of readily flammable material or other means of lighting a fire

fireˈlock noun

A gun discharged by a lock with flint and steel

fireˈman noun

1. A male firefighter
2. A stoker
3. A train driver's assistant (stoker on a steam railway engine)
4. A person who looks after safety conditions in a mine
5. A person who explodes charges
6. A reporter sent out (esp abroad) to cover a specific event

fireman's lift noun

A method of carrying someone by putting him or her face down over one's shoulder, esp used by firefighters in rescuing unconscious or injured people

fireˈmark noun

A metal plate formerly placed by insurance companies to mark an insured building

fireˈ-marshal (US) or fireˈ-master noun

The head of a fire brigade

fireˈ-new adjective

1. Fresh from the fire
2. Brand-new

fireˈ-office noun

A fire insurance office

fire opal noun

A flame-coloured variety of opal

fireˈpan noun

A metal vessel for holding fire

fireˈplace noun

The place for a domestic fire, the chimney-opening and surrounding area

fireˈ-plough (US fire-plow) noun (archaeology)

A stick rubbed in a wooden groove to make fire

fireˈplug noun

A hydrant for use against fires

fireˈ-policy noun

A written document of insurance against fire

fireˈpot noun (historical)

An earthen pot full of combustible material, used as a missile

fireˈpower noun

1. The amount of ammunition that can be fired with effect in a given time (military)
2. The total offensive power or materials of a fighting force or any one of its machines or units (military)
3. The total weight of influence, argument, etc of an individual, organization, etc (figurative)

fire practice same as fire drill above.

fireˈproof adjective

1. Rendered completely immune to the effects of fire
2. Incombustible

transitive verb

To make fireproof

fireˈproofing noun

fireˈ-raiser noun

An arsonist

fireˈ-raising noun

Arson

fireˈ-resistant or fireˈ-resisting adjective

Immune to the effects of fire up to a required degree

fireˈ-risk noun

Something which is likely to cause a fire, or to be consumed if there is one

fireˈ-robed adjective (Shakespeare)

Apparently clothed in fire

fire sale noun

1. A sale of goods damaged by fire
2. Any quick sale of goods at cheap bargain prices (US; usu figurative)

fireˈscreen noun

A screen for intercepting the heat of a fire or masking an unlit fire

fireˈship noun (historical)

A ship carrying combustible materials sent among the enemy's ships

fireˈ-shovel noun

fireˈside noun

1. The side of the fireplace
2. The hearth
3. Home

adjective

1. Domestic
2. Familiar

fire sign noun

Any of the three signs of the zodiac (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius) believed to have an affinity with fire

fire station noun

A place where fire engines, firefighters, etc are kept in readiness to attend fires

fireˈ-step or firˈing-step noun (historical)

A ledge on which soldiers stand to fire over a parapet, a banquette

fireˈ-stick noun

A primitive implement for making fire by friction

fireˈstone noun

A rock, esp sandstone, that can withstand great heat

fireˈ-storm noun

A huge blaze (esp a result of heavy bombing) which fans its own flames by creating its own draught (also figurative)

fireˈthorn noun (botany)

Pyracantha

fire trail noun (Aust and N American)

A road through forest or bush that allows firefighters to reach fires in remote parts

fireˈtrap noun

A building, etc inadequately provided with fire exits and fire escapes

fire truck noun (US)

A fire engine

fireˈ-tube noun

A tube through which fire passes, eg in a steam railway engine

fireˈ-walk or fireˈ-walking noun

The (religious) ceremony of walking barefoot over hot stones, ashes, etc

fireˈ-walker noun

fireˈwall noun

1. A fireproof wall in a building intended to prevent a fire from spreading
2. Software that protects a network against unauthorized users (computing; also figurative)

transitive verb

To install or create a firewall around

fireˈ-warden noun (N American)

An official responsible for the prevention and extinction of fires

fireˈ-watcher noun

A person who watches out for fires resulting from bombing or in eg forested areas

fireˈ-watching noun

fireˈwater noun (humorous)

Strong alcoholic spirits

fireˈweed noun

The rosebay willowherb, which springs up after forest, etc fires

Fire'wire® noun

A serial bus technology used for high-speed data transfer between computers

fireˈwoman noun

A female firefighter

fireˈwood noun

Wood for fuel

fireˈwork noun

1. A combustible or explosive mixture used in warfare, or a projectile carrying it (obsolete)
2. A device containing combustible chemicals, for producing coloured sparks, flares, etc, often with loud noises
3. (now only in pl) a display of these
4. (in pl) an impressive technical display in music, talk, etc
5. (in pl) a display of temper

fireˈworm noun

1. A glow-worm
2. A firefly

fireˈ-worship noun

1. Worship of fire
2. Loosely, homage to fire (as among Parsees) as a symbol of deity but not itself a god

fireˈ-worshipper noun

firing line noun

1. An area, or the troops, within range of the enemy for practical purposes
2. A position of exposure to fierce criticism, etc, esp in the phrase in the firing line

firing order noun (motoring)

The sequence in which the cylinders of a multi-cylinder combustion engine fire

firing party noun

A detachment detailed to fire over a grave or shoot a condemned prisoner

firing pin noun

A pin that strikes the detonator and explodes the cartridge in a rifle

firing point noun

The temperature at which a flammable oil catches fire spontaneously

firing squad noun

A firing party, a detachment detailed to shoot a condemned prisoner

between two fires

Under attack from two sides

breathe fire (informal)

To speak or behave in an angry or intimidating manner

catch or take fire

1. To become ignited
2. To become aroused about something

fire and brimstone

1. Hell, formerly an exclamation of wrath or extreme irritation
2. A preacher's evocation of eternal damnation (fireˈ-and-brimˈstone adjective)

fire and sword

Military devastation

fire away (usu imperative; informal)

1. To go ahead
2. To begin

fire in one's belly

1. Ardour or passion in speaking, etc
2. Drive or ambition

fire off

1. To discharge
2. To ask or utter in rapid succession

fire out (Shakespeare)

To expel

fire up

1. To start a fire
2. To fly into a passion
3. To excite or enthuse

go on fire (Scot or Irish)

To catch fire

go through fire and water see under go¹

hang fire see under hang

on fire

1. In a state of fiery combustion
2. In a lively or excited state (informal)

open fire see under open

play with fire

1. To expose oneself to unnecessary risk
2. To treat lightly a situation which could prove dangerous

St Anthony's fire see under Anthony

St Elmo's fire see under saint

set on fire or set fire to

To ignite

under fire

1. Exposed to the enemy's fire
2. Exposed to criticism