# fire

Pronunciation: US say "FY-ur" /ˈfaɪ.ɚ/; UK say "FY-uh" /ˈfaɪ.ə/

## Noun

1. An outbreak of burning in a particular place, often accidental, that causes damage and danger.
   - Simple: Dangerous burning in a building or other place, often started by accident, that can destroy things and hurt people.
   - _The fire spread quickly through the old wooden building before help arrived._
   - _Investigators believe a faulty wire started the fire in the basement._
2. A usually self-sustaining chemical reaction in which oxygen bonds with carbon or another fuel, producing heat along with flame or smoldering.
   - Simple: What happens when something burns, as fuel joins with oxygen and gives off heat, usually with flames.
   - _Fire requires fuel, oxygen, and enough heat to begin and sustain itself._
   - _The chemistry of fire explains why a wet blanket can smother flames._
5. A fire that someone builds and keeps burning in one place for warmth, cooking or light, such as a campfire or a fire in a hearth; also the fuel laid ready for one.
   - Simple: A fire that people make on purpose, for example in a fireplace or at a campsite, to keep warm or cook.
   - _Each evening the family built a fire and gathered around it._
   - _A small fire crackled in the stone hearth all night._
6. The shooting of guns or other weapons, or the bullets and shells they discharge.
   - Simple: Shots from guns or other weapons.
   - _The patrol advanced slowly under constant fire from the ridge._
   - _Return fire forced the attackers to fall back behind the wall._
9. Strong feeling or spirit, such as love, anger, or eager energy and enthusiasm.
   - Simple: Strong feeling or spirit, such as deep love, anger or eager energy.
   - _There was such fire in his voice that the room fell silent._
   - _The rivalry between them burned with a fire neither would admit._
13. The fire department, as the public service that puts out fires and answers related emergencies, often named alongside the police. *(US)*
   - Simple: The public service that puts out fires and helps in other emergencies, often named together with the police.
   - _Police, fire, and EMS were on the scene within minutes of the explosion._
   - _The city council voted to raise salaries for police and fire next year._
15. A rapid burst or volley of something, such as questions or criticism, directed all at once.
   - Simple: A quick burst of many things, such as words or questions, coming at once.
   - _The senator came under withering fire from both parties during the hearing._
   - _He kept calm under a steady fire of objections from the board._
14. The chemical reaction of burning, regarded as one of the classical elements or as one of the basic elements of alchemy.
   - Simple: Burning, seen in old science and philosophy as one of the basic things everything is made of.
   - _Greek philosophers counted fire among the elements from which all matter was thought to be made._
   - _The alchemist's diagram set fire opposite water, and air opposite earth._
19. A heater or stove, such as an electric one, used in place of a real fire. *(British)*
   - Simple: A heater that warms a room, used instead of a real wood or coal fire.
   - _She turned the fire on as soon as the evening grew cold._
   - _The flat had a small gas fire instead of central heating._
20. A gun or firearm. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A gun, usually a handgun.
21. The ability of a transparent, faceted gemstone to split white light into flashes of different colors, prized because it increases the stone's value.
   - Simple: The flashes of rainbow color that a cut gem throws off when light hits it.
   - _Under the showroom lights, the diamond's fire was unmistakable._
   - _Collectors pay more for a stone with exceptional fire._

## Verb

3. To dismiss someone from a job; by extension, to end a working relationship with someone, such as a client.
   - Simple: To make someone leave their job, or to stop working with someone, such as a customer.
   - _The board voted to fire the chief executive after the scandal broke._
   - _His boss fired him on the spot for lying to a client._
4. To shoot a gun, cannon or other weapon, or to send a bullet, shell or missile from one.
   - Simple: To shoot a gun or other weapon, or to send a bullet or missile from it.
   - _The cannons fired at dawn, shaking the whole valley._
   - _Order the troops to hold steady and not fire until commanded._
7. To set something ablaze, especially a building or similar structure.
   - Simple: To deliberately make something, often a building, start burning.
   - _The retreating army fired the village before withdrawing._
   - _During the feud, someone crept out one night to fire the neighbors' haystacks._
8. To send or direct something rapidly and forcefully toward a target or person, such as a ball at goal or a string of questions.
   - Simple: To send something quickly and hard toward someone or something, like a ball or a question.
   - _The interviewer fired a series of pointed questions at the candidate._
   - _Strikers are taught to fire the ball low and hard at the far post._
10. To fill someone with strong feeling, such as enthusiasm, passion or anger; to stir or inspire.
   - Simple: To make someone feel very excited, eager or angry.
   - _The orator's words fired the crowd into a frenzy._
   - _Nothing could fire his ambition quite like a rival's success._
11. To feed or tend the fire of something such as a boiler, furnace, or steam engine.
   - Simple: To put fuel on the fire of a boiler, stove, or engine and keep it burning.
   - _Two stokers took turns to fire the ship's boilers through the night._
   - _He fired for the railroad for ten years before he was promoted to engineer._
12. To harden something such as ceramic or metal by heating it strongly, without making it burn.
   - Simple: To heat something like clay or metal in a very hot oven to make it hard.
   - _The studio fires its pottery at over a thousand degrees._
   - _Artisans fire the tiles twice to set the glaze._
18. To start an engine, or to ignite one, especially a rocket engine, so that it runs or produces thrust.
   - Simple: To start an engine, or make it begin to burn fuel and run.
   - _The lander fired its engine to slow down before touchdown._
   - _Engineers will fire the rocket's main engine for six minutes to reach orbit._
22. Of a nerve or other cell, to produce an electrical signal called an action potential.
   - Simple: To send out a sudden electrical signal, the way a nerve cell does.
   - _Neurons fire rapidly when the stimulus crosses a certain threshold._
   - _The cell fires only after enough ion channels open._
23. To detonate an explosive charge within a mine.
   - Simple: To set off an explosive charge inside a mine.
   - _The foreman gave the signal to fire the blast deep in the shaft._
   - _They fired the charges in sequence to bring down the rock face._
24. To light up or illuminate something as if with the glow of fire.
   - Simple: To light something up with a bright, glowing color.
   - _The setting sun fired the windows of the tall buildings._
   - _The late evening light seemed to fire the whole valley with copper tones._

## Adjective

16. Extremely good or impressive; excellent and exciting. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Very good, exciting, or impressive in a way people admire.
   - _The whole album is straight-up fire from start to finish._
   - _Everyone agreed the food at the festival was fire._

## Interjection

17. A command ordering soldiers or shooters to discharge their firearms.
   - Simple: A shouted order telling people to shoot their guns right now.
   - _On the officer's sharp "Fire!", the whole line let loose a volley._
   - _He raised his sword and bellowed, "Fire!" to the waiting gunners._
25. Yelled as an alarm to tell people that something close by is burning and that they must get out of danger.
   - Simple: Something you shout to tell people that something near is burning and they need to get to a safe place.
   - _A guest ran down the hotel corridor shouting "Fire!" and pounding on every door._
   - _When smoke poured out of the barn, the farmhand cried, "Fire! Get the horses out!"_

## Other meanings

- (noun) An occurrence of igniting and running one or more rocket engines.
- (verb) In software, to trigger an event so that the handlers registered for it run in response.
- (noun) Lively, inventive imagination, or burning passion for ideas and principles.
- (noun) Brilliance or sparkle, and by extension a star.
- (noun) A painful ordeal, or something that stirs up anger or passion.
- (noun) A red hue found inside some opals.
- (verb) To force people or animals out of a place by starting a fire.
- (verb) To become angry or roused with strong feeling.
- (verb) To treat a horse's leg or other part by burning it with a hot iron, as an old veterinary remedy.
- (verb) To start burning, or to be set alight.
- (verb) To work as a stoker, feeding and tending the boiler fire on a steam locomotive or steamship.
- (verb) Of a horse in a race, to speed up suddenly and pull ahead.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 5–6, 9, 13–16, 19–21** — The word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ by way of Proto-Germanic and Proto-West Germanic forms, reaching Old English as fȳr ("fire") and Middle English as fyr. Relatives include Dutch vuur, German Feuer, Ancient Greek pûr, and English pyre.
**Meanings 3–4, 7–8, 10–12, 17–18, 22–25** — From Middle English "firen," from Old English "fȳrian" (to make a fire), formed from the noun. It is related to Dutch "vuren" (to fire, shoot) and German "feuern" (to fire).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/fire (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).