What does "fire" mean?
A (usually self-sustaining) chemical reaction involving the bonding of oxygen with carbon or other fuel, with the production of heat and the presence of flame or smouldering.
Fire
/ˈfaɪ.ə/ adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A (usually self-sustaining) chemical reaction involving the bonding of oxygen with carbon or other fuel, with the production of heat and the presence of flame or smouldering.
- Grammar: fire is listed as adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: blast, blaze, conflagration, flame.
- Useful contrasts: czech voda, swedish vatten, cease-fire.
- Usage evidence: A small forest fire can easily spread and quickly become a great conflagration.
How to use "fire"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "fire" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "fire" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "fire" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "fire" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "fire" is acting as adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "blast" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "fire", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A (usually self-sustaining) chemical reaction involving the bonding of oxygen with carbon or other fuel, with the production of heat and the presence of flame or smouldering. uncountable
- 2 Acronym of financial independence and retire early. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
- 3 the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy wordnet
- 4 An instance of this chemical reaction, especially when intentionally created and maintained in a specific location to a useful end (such as a campfire or a hearth fire). countable
"We sat about the fire singing songs and telling tales."
- 5 Acronym of finance, insurance and real estate, a class of businesses. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
"As Figure 2.1 demonstrates, total income acquired by the finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) sector has been increasing since the early 1980s. While in the 1952–1980 period, the share of national income that went to the FIRE sector hovered between 12 and 14 percent, by the 2000s it had approached 20 percent."
Show 23 more definitions
- 6 a fireplace in which a relatively small fire is burning wordnet
- 7 The occurrence, often accidental, of fire in a certain place, causing damage and danger. countable
"There was a fire at the school last night and the whole place burned down."
- 8 intense adverse criticism wordnet
- 9 The aforementioned chemical reaction of burning, considered one of the Classical elements or basic elements of alchemy. uncountable
- 10 the event of something burning (often destructive) wordnet
- 11 A heater or stove used in place of a real fire (such as an electric fire). British, countable
- 12 a severe trial wordnet
- 13 The elements necessary to start a fire. countable
"The fire was laid and needed to be lit."
- 14 feelings of great warmth and intensity wordnet
- 15 The bullets or other projectiles fired from a gun or other ranged weapon. uncountable
"The fire from the enemy guns kept us from attacking."
- 16 the process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke wordnet
- 17 A planned bombardment by artillery or similar weapons, or the capability to deliver such. countable
"We dominated the battlespace with our fires."
- 18 fuel that is burning and is used as a means for cooking wordnet
- 19 A firearm. countable, slang
"I used to work at Five Below but now I keep that fire below"
- 20 once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles), associated with the humour bile wordnet
- 21 A barrage, volley countable, figuratively
"In the district of Erfurt a very heavy sheaf [...] is called the Great Mother, and is carried on the last waggon to the barn, where all hands lift it down amid a fire of jokes."
- 22 An instance of firing one or more rocket engines. countable, uncountable
"static fire"
- 23 Strength of passion, whether love or hate. countable, uncountable
"He had fire in his temper."
- 24 Liveliness of imagination or fancy; intellectual and moral enthusiasm. countable, uncountable
"And bless their critic with a poet's fire."
- 25 Splendour; brilliancy; lustre; hence, a star. countable, uncountable
"Stars, hide your fires."
- 26 A severe trial; anything inflaming or provoking. countable, uncountable
- 27 Red coloration in a piece of opal. countable, uncountable
- 28 The capacity of a gemstone, especially a faceted, cut gemstone, that is transparent to visible light, to disperse white light into its multispectral component parts, resulting in a flash of different colors, the richness and dispersion of which increases the gemstone's value. countable, uncountable
"In other words, the more times a light ray reflects within a diamond, the greater the separation of the spectral colors—and the more obvious the appearance of fire—will be. Fire in a gemstone is best defined as "the visible extent of light dispersed into spectral colors" (Reinitz et al., 2001). In a polished diamond, this is seen as flares or flashes of color that appear and disappear as the diamond, the observer, or the light source moves."
Verb
- 1 To set (something, often a building) on fire. transitive
"["]Then I slipped up again with a box of matches, fired my heap of paper and rubbish, put the chairs and bedding thereby, led the gas to the affair, by means of an india-rubber tube, and waving a farewell to the room left it for the last time." / "You fired the house!" exclaimed Kemp. / "Fired the house. It was the only way to cover my trail – and no doubt it was insured.["]"
- 2 bake in a kiln so as to harden wordnet
- 3 To heat as with fire, but without setting on fire, as ceramic, metal objects, etc. transitive
"If you fire the pottery at too high a temperature, it may crack."
- 4 destroy by fire wordnet
- 5 To drive away by setting a fire. transitive
"Till my bad angel fire my good one out."
Show 30 more definitions
- 6 start or maintain a fire in wordnet
- 7 To terminate the employment contract of (an employee), especially for cause (such as misconduct, incompetence, or poor performance). transitive
"The first, obvious choice was hysterical and fantastic Blanche – had there not been her timidity, her fear of being ‘fired’[…]."
- 8 become ignited wordnet
- 9 To terminate a contract with a client; to drop a client. broadly, transitive
"Don't be hesitant to fire a client - cull out the deadwood. If a client doesn't meet the above criteria, you are better off without him. You don't do your best work for a client you'd rather not have."
- 10 cause to go off wordnet
- 11 To shoot (a gun, rocket/missile, or analogous device). transitive
"We will fire our guns at the enemy."
- 12 go off or discharge wordnet
- 13 To shoot a gun, cannon, or similar weapon. intransitive
"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes."
- 14 start firing a weapon wordnet
- 15 To operate a rocket engine to produce thrust.
"The RCS thrusters fired several times to stabilize the tumbling spacecraft."
- 16 generate an electrical impulse wordnet
- 17 To set off an explosive in a mine. transitive
"`Now are you both ready?' I said, as people do when they are going to fire a mine."
- 18 call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses) wordnet
- 19 To shoot; to attempt to score a goal. transitive
"Andrey Arshavin equalised with a superb volley into the corner before Nicklas Bendtner coolly fired Arsenal in front."
- 20 drive out or away by or as if by fire wordnet
- 21 To cause an action potential in a cell. intransitive
"When a neuron fires, it transmits information."
- 22 provide with fuel wordnet
- 23 To forcibly direct (something). transitive
"He answered the questions the reporters fired at him."
- 24 terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position wordnet
- 25 To initiate an event (by means of an event handler). ambitransitive
"The event handler should only fire after all web page content has finished loading."
- 26 To inflame; to irritate, as the passions. transitive
"to fire the soul with anger, pride, or revenge"
- 27 To be irritated or inflamed with passion. dated, intransitive
"Inexperienced girl as I was, I fired at the idea of becoming his dupe, and fancying, perhaps, that there was more in merely answering his note than it would have amounted to, I said — "That kind of thing may answer very well with button-makers, but ladies don't like it. […]"
- 28 To animate; to give life or spirit to.
"to fire the genius of a young man"
- 29 To feed or serve the fire of.
"to fire a boiler"
- 30 To light up as if by fire; to illuminate. transitive
"[The sun] fires the proud tops of the eastern pines."
- 31 To cauterize (a horse, or a part of its body). transitive
- 32 To catch fire; to be kindled. dated, intransitive
- 33 To work as a fireman, one who keeps the fire under a steam boiler on a steam-powered ship or train. dated, intransitive
"I fired on that train until August."
- 34 To start (an engine). slang, usually
- 35 Of a horse: to race ahead with a burst of energy. intransitive
"I'd say he struggled to get around the course. He never fired. In other years, when Buzzy Hannum rode him, he ran well enough to win, but not this time."
Adjective
- 1 Amazing; excellent. not-comparable, predicative, slang
"This is fire, keep up the amazing work!"
Intj
- 1 Command to shoot with firearms.
Proper Noun
- 1 Acronym of Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (formerly Foundation for Individual Rights in Education): a non-profit civil liberties group founded in 1999 with the aim of protecting free speech rights on college campuses in the United States. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
"“President Trump may believe he has the power to revise the First Amendment with the stroke of a pen, but he doesn’t,” the free speech advocacy group FIRE said in a statement."
Antonyms
Example
"A small forest fire can easily spread and quickly become a great conflagration."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "fire"?
Common synonyms include: blast, blaze, conflagration, flame, abandon, afflatus.
How do you use "fire" in a sentence?
A small forest fire can easily spread and quickly become a great conflagration.
How do you pronounce "fire"?
Pronounced /ˈfaɪ.ə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English fyr, from Old English fȳr (“fire”), from Proto-West Germanic *fuir, from *fuïr, a regularised form of Proto-Germanic *fōr (“fire”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥. Cognates See also Scots feier, fyre (“fire”), Yola vier, vire (“fire”), Saterland Frisian Fjuur, Fjúur (“fire”), West Frisian fjoer (“fire”), Alemannic German Füür (“fire”), Bavarian Feia (“fire”), Central Franconian Fauer, Feier, Füür (“fire”), Cimbrian bôar, vaür, vôar (“fire”), Dutch vier, vuur (“fire”), German Feuer (“fire”), German Low German Füer, Füür (“fire”), Luxembourgish Feier (“fire”), Mòcheno vaier (“fire”), Vilamovian faojer (“fire”), West Flemish vier (“fire”), Yiddish פֿײַער (fayer, “fire”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish fyr (“fire”), Icelandic funi (“fire”), Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐌽 (fōn, “fire”). Also, compare Armenian հուր (hur, “fire”), Greek πυρ (pyr, “fire”), Latin pūrgō (“to clean, cleanse, clear, purge, purify”), Umbrian 𐌐𐌉𐌓 (pir, “fire”), Bulgarian фир (fir, “ooze, pickle, soak”), Polish perz (“smoke”), Hittite 𒉺𒄴𒄯 (paḫḫur, “fire”), Luwian 𒉺𒀀𒄷𒌋𒌨 (pāhūr, “fire”), Tocharian A/B por/puwar (“fire”). This was an inanimate noun whose animate counterpart was Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥gʷnis (see ignite). Cognate to pyre.
Etymology 2
From Middle English firen, fyren, furen, from Old English fȳrian (“to make a fire”), from the noun (see above). Cognate with Old Frisian fioria (“to light a fire”), Saterland Frisian fjuurje (“to fire”), Middle Dutch vûren, vueren, vieren (“to set fire”), Dutch vuren (“to fire, shoot”), Old High German fiuren (“to ignite, set on fire”), German feuern (“to fire”).