Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Fire

Fire

(fīr)
,
Noun.
[OE.
fir
,
fyr
,
fur
AS.
fȳr
; akin to D.
vuur
, OS. & OHG.
fiur
, G.
feuer
, Icel.
fȳri
,
fūrr
, Gr.
πῦρ
, and perh. to L.
purus
pure, E.
pure
Cf.
Empyrean
,
Pyre
.]
1.
The evolution of light and heat in the combustion of bodies; combustion; state of ignition.
☞ The form of fire exhibited in the combustion of gases in an ascending stream or current is called flame. Anciently, fire, air, earth, and water were regarded as the four elements of which all things are composed.
2.
Fuel in a state of combustion, as on a hearth, or in a stove or a furnace.
3.
The burning of a house or town; a conflagration.
4.
Anything which destroys or affects like fire.
5.
Ardor of passion, whether love or hate; excessive warmth; consuming violence of temper.
he had
fire
in his temper.
Atterbury.
6.
Liveliness of imagination or fancy; intellectual and moral enthusiasm; capacity for ardor and zeal.
And bless their critic with a poet’s
fire
.
Pope.
7.
Splendor; brilliancy; luster; hence, a star.
Stars, hide your
fires
.
Shakespeare
As in a zodiac
representing the heavenly
fires
.
Milton.
8.
Torture by burning; severe trial or affliction.
9.
The discharge of firearms; firing;
as, the troops were exposed to a heavy
fire
.
Blue fire
,
Red fire
,
Green fire
(Pyrotech.)
,
compositions of various combustible substances, as sulphur, niter, lampblack, etc., the flames of which are colored by various metallic salts, as those of antimony, strontium, barium, etc.
–
Fire alarm
(a)
A signal given on the breaking out of a fire.
(b)
An apparatus for giving such an alarm.
–
Fire annihilator
,
a machine, device, or preparation to be kept at hand for extinguishing fire by smothering it with some incombustible vapor or gas, as carbonic acid.
–
Fire balloon
.
(a)
A balloon raised in the air by the buoyancy of air heated by a fire placed in the lower part
.
(b)
A balloon sent up at night with fireworks which ignite at a regulated height.
Simmonds.
–
Fire bar
,
a grate bar.
–
Fire basket
,
a portable grate; a cresset.
Knight.
–
Fire beetle
.
(Zool.)
See in the Vocabulary.
–
Fire blast
,
a disease of plants which causes them to appear as if burnt by fire.
–
Fire box
,
the chamber of a furnace, steam boiler, etc., for the fire.
–
Fire brick
,
a refractory brick, capable of sustaining intense heat without fusion, usually made of fire clay or of siliceous material, with some cementing substance, and used for lining fire boxes, etc.
–
Fire brigade
,
an organized body of men for extinguished fires.
–
Fire bucket
.
See under
Bucket
.
–
Fire bug
,
an incendiary; one who, from malice or through mania, persistently sets fire to property; a pyromaniac.
[U.S.]
–
Fire clay
.
See under
Clay
.
–
Fire company
,
a company of men managing an engine in extinguishing fires.
–
Fire cross
.
See
Fiery cross
.
[Obs.]
Milton.
–
Fire damp
.
See under
Damp
.
–
Fire dog
.
See
Firedog
, in the Vocabulary.
–
Fire drill
.
(a)
A series of evolutions performed by fireman for practice
.
(b)
An apparatus for producing fire by friction, by rapidly twirling a wooden pin in a wooden socket; – used by the Hindoos during all historic time, and by many savage peoples.
–
Fire eater
.
(a)
A juggler who pretends to eat fire.
(b)
A quarrelsome person who seeks affrays; a hotspur.
[Colloq.]
–
Fire engine
,
a portable forcing pump, usually on wheels, for throwing water to extinguish fire.
–
Fire escape
,
a contrivance for facilitating escape from burning buildings.
–
Fire gilding
(Fine Arts)
,
a mode of gilding with an amalgam of gold and quicksilver, the latter metal being driven off afterward by heat.
–
Fire gilt
(Fine Arts)
,
gold laid on by the process of fire gilding.
–
Fire insurance
,
the act or system of insuring against fire; also, a contract by which an insurance company undertakes, in consideration of the payment of a premium or small percentage – usually made periodically – to indemnify an owner of property from loss by fire during a specified period.
–
Fire irons
,
utensils for a fireplace or grate, as tongs, poker, and shovel.
–
Fire main
,
a pipe for water, to be used in putting out fire.
–
Fire master
(Mil)
,
an artillery officer who formerly supervised the composition of fireworks.
–
Fire office
,
an office at which to effect insurance against fire.
–
Fire opal
,
a variety of opal giving firelike reflections.
–
Fire ordeal
,
an ancient mode of trial, in which the test was the ability of the accused to handle or tread upon red-hot irons.
Abbot.
–
Fire pan
,
a pan for holding or conveying fire, especially the receptacle for the priming of a gun.
–
Fire plug
,
a plug or hydrant for drawing water from the main pipes in a street, building, etc., for extinguishing fires.
–
Fire policy
,
the writing or instrument expressing the contract of insurance against loss by fire.
–
Fire pot
.
(a)
(Mil.)
A small earthen pot filled with combustibles, formerly used as a missile in war.
(b)
The cast iron vessel which holds the fuel or fire in a furnace.
(c)
A crucible.
(d)
A solderer's furnace.
–
Fire raft
,
a raft laden with combustibles, used for setting fire to an enemy's ships.
–
Fire roll
,
a peculiar beat of the drum to summon men to their quarters in case of fire.
–
Fire setting
(Mining)
,
the process of softening or cracking the working face of a lode, to facilitate excavation, by exposing it to the action of fire; – now generally superseded by the use of explosives.
Raymond.
–
Fire ship
,
a vessel filled with combustibles, for setting fire to an enemy's ships.
–
Fire shovel
,
a shovel for taking up coals of fire.
–
Fire stink
,
the stench from decomposing iron pyrites, caused by the formation of hydrogen sulfide.
Raymond.
–
Fire surface
,
the surfaces of a steam boiler which are exposed to the direct heat of the fuel and the products of combustion; heating surface.
–
Fire swab
,
a swab saturated with water, for cooling a gun in action and clearing away particles of powder, etc.
Farrow.
–
Fire teaser
,
in England, the fireman of a steam emgine.
–
Fire water
,
a strong alcoholic beverage; – so called by the American Indians.
–
Fire worship
,
the worship of fire, which prevails chiefly in Persia, among the followers of
Zoroaster
, called Chebers, or Guebers, and among the Parsees of India.
–
Greek fire
.
See under
Greek
.
–
On fire
,
burning; hence, ardent; passionate; eager; zealous.
–
Running fire
,
the rapid discharge of firearms in succession by a line of troops.
–
St. Anthony's fire
,
erysipelas; – an eruptive fever which St. Anthony was supposed to cure miraculously.
Hoblyn.
–
St. Elmo's fire
.
See under
Saint Elmo
.
–
To set on fire
,
to inflame; to kindle.
–
To take fire
,
to begin to burn; to fly into a passion.

Fire

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Fired
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Fring
.]
1.
To set on fire; to kindle;
as, to
fire
a house or chimney; to
fire
a pile.
2.
To subject to intense heat; to bake; to burn in a kiln;
as, to
fire
pottery
.
3.
To inflame; to irritate, as the passions;
as, to
fire
the soul with anger, pride, or revenge
.
Love had
fired
my mind.
Dryden.
4.
To animate; to give life or spirit to;
as, to
fire
the genius of a young man
.
5.
To feed or serve the fire of;
as, to
fire
a boiler
.
6.
To light up as if by fire; to illuminate.
[The sun]
fires
the proud tops of the eastern pines.
Shakespeare
7.
To cause to explode;
as, to
fire
a torpedo
; to disharge;
as, to
fire
a rifle, pistol, or cannon; to
fire
cannon balls, rockets, etc.
8.
To drive by fire.
[Obs.]
Till my bad angel
fire
my good one out.
Shakespeare
9.
(Far.)
To cauterize.

Fire

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To take fire; to be kindled; to kindle.
2.
To be irritated or inflamed with passion.
3.
To discharge artillery or firearms;
as, they
fired
on the town
.
To fire up
,
to grow irritated or angry.
“He . . . fired up, and stood vigorously on his defense.”
Macaulay.

Webster 1828 Edition

Fire

FIRE

,
Noun.
[The radical sense of fire is usually, to rush, to rage, to be violently agitated; and if this is the sense of fire, in coincides with L. furo. It may be from shining or consuming.]
1.
Heat and light emanating visibly, perceptibly and simultaneously from any body; caloric; the unknown cause of the sensation of heat and of the retrocession of the homogeneous particles of bodies from one another, producing expansion, and thus enlarging all their dimensions; one of the causes of magnetism, as evinced by Dr. Hare's calorimotor.
In the popular acceptation of the word, fire is the effect of combustion. The combustible body ignited or heated to redness we call fire; and when ascending in a stream or body, we call it flame. A piece of charcoal in combustion, is of a red color and very hot. In this state it is said to be on fire, or to contain fire. When combustion ceases, it loses its redness and extreme heat, and we say, the fire is extinct.
2.
The burning of fuel on a hearth, or in any other place. We kindle a fire in the morning, and at night we rake up the fire. Anthracite will maintain fire during the night.
3.
The burning of a house or town; a conflagration. Newburyport and Savannah have suffered immense losses by fire. The great fire in Boston in 1711 consumed a large part of the town.
4.
Light; luster; splendor.
Stars, hide your fires!
5.
Torture by burning.
6.
The instrument of punishment; or the punishment of the impenitent in another state.
Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Is. 33.
7.
That which inflames or irritates the passions.
What fire is in my ears?
8.
Ardor of temper; violence of passion.
He had fire in his temper.
9.
Liveliness of imagination; vigor of fancy; intellectual activity; animation; force of sentiment or expression.
And warm the critic with a poet's fire.
10.
The passion of love; ardent affection.
The God of love retires; dim are his torches, and extinct his fires.
11.
Ardor; heat; as the fire of zeal or of love.
12.
Combustion; tumult; rage; contention.
13.
Trouble; affliction.
When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt. Is. 43.
To set on fire, to kindle; to inflame; to excite violent action.
St. Anthony's fire, a disease marked by an eruption on the skin, or a diffused inflammation, with fever; the Erysipelas.
Wild fire, an artificial or factitious fire, which burns even under water. it is made by a composition of sulphur, naphtha, pitch, gum and bitumen. It is called also Greek fire.

FIRE

, v.t.
1.
To set on fire; to kindle; as, to fire a house or chimney; to fire a pile.
2.
To inflame; to irritate the passions; as, to fire with anger or revenge.
3.
To animate; to give life or spirit; as, to fire the genius.
4.
To drive by fire. [Little used.]
5.
To cause to explode; to discharge; as, to fire a musket or cannon.
6.
To cauterize; a term in farriery.

FIRE

, v.i.
1.
To take fire; to be kindled.
2.
To be irritated or inflamed with passion.
3.
To discharge artillery or firearms. They fired on the town.

Definition 2024

fire

fire

See also: FIRE and fíre

English

A large fire (1)
A small fire from a lighter (1)
The fire of a stationary minigun (8)

Noun

fire ‎(countable and uncountable, plural fires)

  1. (uncountable) 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.
  2. (countable) Something that has produced or is capable of producing this chemical reaction, such as a campfire.
    We sat around the fire singing songs and telling stories.‎
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 8, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      We toted in the wood and got the fire going nice and comfortable. Lord James still set in one of the chairs and Applegate had cabbaged the other and was hugging the stove.
  3. (countable) The often accidental occurrence of fire in a certain place.
    There was a fire at the school last night and the whole place burned down.‎
    During hot and dry summers many fires in forests are caused by regardlessly discarded cigarette butts.‎
  4. (uncountable, alchemy, philosophy) The aforementioned chemical reaction of burning, considered a one of the the Classical elements or basic elements of alchemy.
  5. (countable, Britain) A heater or stove used in place of a real fire (such as an electric fire).
  6. (countable) The elements necessary to start a fire.
    The fire was laid and needed to be lit.‎
  7. (uncountable) The bullets or other projectiles fired from a gun.
    The fire from the enemy guns kept us from attacking.‎
  8. Strength of passion, whether love or hate.
    • Atterbury
      He had fire in his temper.
  9. Liveliness of imagination or fancy; intellectual and moral enthusiasm.
  10. Splendour; brilliancy; lustre; hence, a star.
  11. (countable) A button (on a joypad, joystick or similar device) usually used to make a video game character fire a weapon.
    Press fire to fire the gun.‎

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

fire ‎(third-person singular simple present fires, present participle firing, simple past and past participle fired)

  1. (transitive) To set (something) on fire.
    • 1897, H.G. Wells, The Invisible Man Chapter 20:
      "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."
    • 1907, Jack London, The Iron Heel
      It was long a question of debate, whether the burning of the South Side ghetto was accidental, or whether it was done by the Mercenaries; but it is definitely settled now that the ghetto was fired by the Mercenaries under orders from their chiefs.
  2. (transitive) To heat without setting on fire, as ceramic, metal objects, etc.
    If you fire the pottery at too high a temperature, it may crack.‎
    They fire the wood to make it easier to put a point on the end.‎
    • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 29686887 , chapter IV:
      So this was my future home, I thought! Certainly it made a brave picture. I had seen similar ones fired-in on many a Heidelberg stein. Backed by towering hills, […] a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
  3. (transitive) To drive away by setting a fire.
  4. (transitive) To terminate the employment contract of (an employee), especially for cause (such as misconduct or poor performance).
    • 1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin 2011, p.226:
      The first, obvious choice was hysterical and fantastic Blanche – had there not been her timidity, her fear of being ‘fired’ […].
  5. (transitive) To shoot (a device that launches a projectile or a pulse of stream of something).
    We will fire our guns at the enemy.‎
    He fired his radar gun at passing cars.‎
  6. (intransitive) To shoot a gun, a cannon or a similar weapon.
    Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes.‎
    His nail gun fired about twenty roofing nails a minute.‎
  7. (transitive, sports) To shoot; to attempt to score a goal.
    • 2010 December 29, Mark Vesty, “Wigan 2-2 Arsenal”, in BBC:
      Andrey Arshavin equalised with a superb volley into the corner before Nicklas Bendtner coolly fired Arsenal in front.
  8. (intransitive, physiology) To cause an action potential in a cell.
    When a neuron fires, it transmits information.‎
  9. (transitive) To forcibly direct (something).
    He answered the questions the reporters fired at him.‎
  10. (intransitive, computer sciences, software engineering) To initiate an event (by means of an event handler).
    The event handler should only fire after all web page content has finished loading.‎
  11. To inflame; to irritate, as the passions.
    to fire the soul with anger, pride, or revenge‎
  12. To animate; to give life or spirit to.
    to fire the genius of a young man‎
  13. To feed or serve the fire of.
    to fire a boiler‎
  14. To light up as if by fire; to illuminate.
  15. (farriery) To cauterize.
  16. (intransitive, dated) To catch fire; to be kindled.
  17. (intransitive, dated) To be irritated or inflamed with passion.

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • (to terminate the employment): hire

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

fire ‎(not comparable)

  1. (slang) Great, amazing, extraordinary, dope.
    That **** is fire, yo!

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: towards · friends · forth · #378: fire · lost · human · kept

Anagrams

Asturian

Verb

fire

  1. third-person singular present indicative of firir

Crimean Tatar

Noun

fire

  1. shrinkage, loss
  2. scrap

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse fjórir, from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres ‎(“four”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fiːrə/, [ˈfiːɐ]

Numeral

fire

  1. (cardinal) four

Etymology 2

From Middle Low German fīren, from French virer ‎(“bear, veer”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fiːrə/, [ˈfiːɐ]

Verb

fire ‎(imperative fir, infinitive at fire, present tense firer, past tense firede, perfect tense har firet)

  1. to lower something fixed to a rope or something similar
    • 1871, Jens Andreas Friis, Lappisk Mythologi, page 138
      Saa gik han hen og firede Stenen og Vidietouget ned i Hullet.
      Then he went [to the hole] and lowered the rock and the wicker rope down into the hole.
    • 2014, Teddy Vork, Diget, Tellerup A/S (ISBN 9788758811086)
      Han satte sig på knæ, famlede sig frem til tovet og vendte sig rundt så han havde ryggen til hullet, drejede overkroppen bagud, firede faklen ned i hullet.
      He kneeled, fumbled his way to the rope and turned around, such that his back was to the hole, twisted his torse backwards, lowered the torch into the hole.
Conjugation

Italian

Etymology

From Latin fierī ‎(“to become, be”), present active infinitive of fiō. Compare Romanian fi.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfire/, [ˈfiː.r̺e]
  • Hyphenation: fì‧re

Verb

fire

  1. (Northern Italy, obsolete) to be

Usage notes

  • The only forms attested outside of ancient Northern Italian literature are the future fia (third-person singular) and fiano (third-person plural).

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian cardinal numbers
 <  3 4 5  > 
    Cardinal : fire
    Ordinal : fjerde

Etymology 1

From Old Norse fjórir via Danish fire; from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr, from *kʷetwṓr, the neuter form of Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /'fiːɾə/

Numeral

fire

  1. (cardinal) four
Related terms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From French virer, via Middle Low German firen

Verb

fire ‎(imperative fir, present tense firer, passive fires, simple past fira or firet or firte, past participle fira or firet or firt, present participle firende)

  1. to slacken, ease
  2. to lower (a flag)

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse fjórir, via Danish fire.

Numeral

fire

  1. (cardinal) four
Related terms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From French virer, via Middle Low German firen

Verb

fire

  1. to slacken, ease
  2. to lower (a flag)

References

Romanian

Etymology 1

Noun

fire

  1. plural of fir

Etymology 2

fi +‎ -re

Noun

fire

  1. essence, substance, nature
  2. character, temper, disposition
  3. mind
Synonyms
Related terms

Turkish

Noun

fire ‎(definite accusative fireyi, plural fireler)

  1. wastage
  2. outage
  3. shrinkage, loss, loss in weight, decrease
  4. turnover
  5. ullage
  6. leakage
  7. waste, tret, deficiency

Etymology

From Middle English fier, from Old English fȳr ‎(“fire”), from *fuïr, a regularised form of Proto-Germanic *fōr ‎(“fire”) (compare Saterland Frisian Fjuur, West Frisian fjoer, Dutch vuur, Low German Füer, German Feuer, Danish fyr), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂ur (compare Hittite 𒉺𒀪𒄯 ‎(paḫḫur), Umbrian pir, Tocharian A/B por/puwar, Czech pýř ‎(“hot ashes”), Ancient Greek πῦρ ‎(pûr, “fire”), Armenian հուր ‎(hur, “fire”)) and perhaps Albanian prush ‎(“embers”). This was an inanimate noun whose animate counterpart was Proto-Indo-European *h₁ngʷnis, *h₁ngʷni-. Doublet of pyre.

Pronunciation

Similar Results