Meaning of fire in English

come under fire
fire and brimstone
fire in your belly
go through fire and water
hang/hold fire
on fire
play with fire
put out fires
set something/someone on fire
set fire to something/someone

fire

verb

/faɪər/ us

/faɪr/

fire verb (SHOOT)

B2 [ I or T ]

to cause a weapon to shoot bullets, arrows, or missiles:

He fired his gun into the air.

fire at Someone started firing at us.

fire into Without warning he started firing into the crowd.

I just prayed that he would stop firing.

The ambassador denied that any missiles had been fired across the border.

[ T or I ]

to direct a series of questions or criticisms at someone:

The journalists were firing questions at me for two whole hours.

fire away "I'd like to ask you some questions about your childhood." "Fire away!" (= You can start asking them now.)

More examplesFewer examples

The soldiers were ordered to fire only as a last resort.
The initial cloud of tear gas had hardly cleared before shots were fired.
He fired six shots at the target, but his aim was terrible, and he missed all of them.
The rebels were firing anti-tank rockets.
The soldiers have been ordered to desist from firing their guns.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Detonation & bombardment

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Guns

Disapproving & criticizing

Questioning people & asking questions in general

fire verb (REMOVE FROM A JOB)

B2 [ T ]

to remove someone from their job, either because they have done something wrong or badly, or as a way of saving the cost of employing them:

She was fired after she was caught stealing from her employer.

be fired from He was fired from his $165,000 job for poor performance.

She has just been fired as editor of the newspaper.

The company is reducing its workforce by firing 500 employees.

Synonyms

dismiss (END JOB)

sack (JOB) mainly UK

More examplesFewer examples

He started feeling paranoid and was convinced his boss was going to fire him.
They have the power to hire and fire managers.
They fired him when they found out he had a criminal record.
He's lucky that he wasn't fired.
After years of loyal service, his boss gave him the shaft by firing him just before he would have qualified for a pension.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Firing staff

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fire verb (EXCITE)

C2 [ T ]

to cause a strong emotion in someone:

fire someone with something I had a brilliant English teacher who fired me with enthusiasm for literature at an early age.

fire someone’s imagination Talk of treasure and lost cities had fired their imaginations.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Inspiring feelings in others

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fire verb (HEAT)

[ T ]

to heat objects made of clay in a kiln (= a special oven) so that they become hard

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Ceramics & pottery

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Idioms

be firing on all cylinders

in the firing line

Phrasal verbs

fire something off
fire someone up
fire something up

(Definition of fire from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

fire | American Dictionary

fire

noun

/fɑɪər/

fire noun (FLAMES)

Add to word list Add to word list

[ C/U ]

the state of burning, or a burning mass of material:

[ U ] The factory had to be closed because the risk of fire was too great.

[ C ] There have been a lot of forest fires because of the drought.

[ C ] The library was badly damaged in the fire.

[ U ] The theater was destroyed by fire.

[ C ] Over a hundred volunteers were needed to put out the fire (= stop it).

[ C/U ]

A fire is also a small controlled mass of burning material that is used for heating or cooking:

[ C ] Light a fire in the fireplace.

on fire

If something is on fire, it is burning, esp. when it is not meant to be:

By the time the firefighters arrived, the whole house was on fire.

fire noun (SHOOTING)

[ U ]

the act of shooting bullets or other explosives from a weapon:

The troops were ordered to cease fire (= stop shooting).

The soldiers opened fire (= started shooting).

fire noun (EMOTION)

[ U ]

strong emotion:

The fire in her speech inspired everyone to carry on in spite of recent setbacks.

Idiom

fire in your belly

fire

verb

/fɑɪər/

fire verb (SHOOT)

[ I/T ]

to shoot bullets or other explosives from a weapon:

[ T ] He fired his gun into the air.

[ I ] The soldiers began firing.

[ T ] fig. The journalists kept firing questions at the president (= asking him questions quickly one after the other).

[ I ] fig. "I’d like to ask you some personal questions." "Fire away (= You can start immediately)!"

fire verb (LOSE JOB)

[ T ]

to order someone to give up his or her job:

She was fired for stealing from her employer.

fire verb (EXCITE)

[ T ]

to cause a strong emotion in someone:

She’s all fired up (= excited) about going to college.

Idiom

on the firing line

Phrasal verb

fire off something

(Definition of fire from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

fire | Business English

fire

verb [ T ]

/faɪər/ us

(UK also sack)

Add to word list Add to word list

to make someone leave their job, especially because they have done something wrong:

fire sb for sth He was told that he was being fired for revealing confidential information.

be fired from sth She was fired from her job because of poor attendance.

The problem for City Council is that we do not have the authority to hire and fire employees.

See also

discharge verb

dismiss

Phrasal verbs

fire away
fire back
fire sth off
fire sb up
fire sth up

(Definition of fire from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

What is the pronunciation of fire?

Translations of fire

in Chinese (Traditional)

火焰, 火, （燃燒著的）燃料，柴火…

in Chinese (Simplified)

火焰, 火, （燃烧着的）燃料，柴火…

in Spanish

fuego, incendio, estufa…

in Portuguese

fogo, incêndio, estufa…

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in Italian

आग, विस्तव, शेकोटी…

火, 火事, （暖房などの）火…

ateş, ısı, yangın…

feu [masculine], incendie [masculine], radiateur [masculine]…

foc, incendi, disparar…

vuur, brand, kachel…

(அதனுள் இருக்கும் பொருள்) எரியும் நிலை, இது வெப்பத்தையும் ஒளியையும் பரப்பி தீப்பிழம்புகளை உருவாக்குகிறது, மேலும் புகையை உருவாக்கக்கூடும்…

आग, (गरम करने या खाना बनाने के लिए नियंत्रित) आग, कमरे को गरम करने में इस्तेमाल होने वाला गैस या इलेक्ट्रिक हीटर…

આગ, તાપણું, રૂમ ગરમ કરનાર…

ild, brand, bål…

eld, brasa, eldsvåda…

api, pemanas, semangat…

das Feuer, der Ofen, brennen…

bål [neuter], brann [masculine], ild [masculine]…

آگ, آگ جلانا, ہیٹر…

вогонь, полум'я, опалювальний прилад…

తుపాకులు లేదా ఇతర ఆయుధాల షూటింగ్, ఆయుధాన్ని ఉపయోగించి తూటాలు, బాణాలు లేదా క్షిపణులను కాల్చు…

আগ��ন, অগ্নি, ছোটো নিয়ন্ত্রিত আগুন যা গরম করা বা রান্না করার জন্য ব্যবহৃত হয়…

oheň, požár, topení…

api, pemanas, semangat…

ไฟ, เครื่องมือที่ทำให้เกิดความร้อน, พลังงาน…

hoả hoạn, đám cháy, thiết bị để sưởi ấm…

ogień, pożar, ognisko…

불, 난롯불, 총을 쏘다…

fuoco, incendio, far fuoco…

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fiord

fipple

fir

fir (tree)

fire

fire a (warning) shot across someone's bow idiom

fire alarm

fire and brimstone idiom

fire at someone/something

Meaning of fire in English

fire noun (FLAMES)

fire noun (SHOOTING)

fire noun (EMOTION)

Idioms

fire verb (SHOOT)

fire verb (REMOVE FROM A JOB)

fire verb (EXCITE)

fire verb (HEAT)

Idioms

Phrasal verbs

fire | American Dictionary

fire noun (FLAMES)

fire noun (SHOOTING)

fire noun (EMOTION)

Idiom

fire verb (SHOOT)

fire verb (LOSE JOB)

fire verb (EXCITE)

Idiom

Phrasal verb

fire | Business English

Phrasal verbs

Translations of fire

Browse

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