I.
noun
1 destructive flames
ADJECTIVE
▪ big , huge
▪ fierce , raging
▪ serious
▪ catastrophic , devastating , disastrous
▪ house , kitchen
▪ bush , forest , wild-land ( AmE )
▪ electrical
VERB + FIRE
▪ be on
▪
The house is on ~!
▪ catch
▪
A lantern was knocked over and the barn caught ~.
▪ cause , set sth on , start
▪
Groups of rioters attacked and set the police headquarters on ~.
▪ ignite , spark
▪
A missile ignited a ~ that burned for three days.
▪ fan
▪
Strong winds fanned the ~.
▪ add fuel to , fuel ( both figurative )
▪
Frustrated ambitions can fuel the ~ of anger and resentment.
▪ extinguish , put out
▪ douse , smother
▪
The sprinkler system came on and doused the ~.
▪ fight
▪
He joined the crowds of men and women fighting the ~.
▪ contain , control
▪
Firefighters struggled to control the ~.
▪ prevent
▪ be damaged by , be damaged in , be destroyed by , be destroyed in
▪
The factory was destroyed in a ~ started by arsonists.
▪ be killed by , be killed in , die in
▪ survive
FIRE + VERB
▪ occur
▪ break out , erupt , start
▪
A ~ broke out in the mail room.
▪ go out
▪ blaze , burn , rage
▪
The ~ burned for three days before it was finally contained.
▪ engulf sb/sth , spread , sweep through sth
▪
In 1925 a disastrous ~ swept through the museum.
▪ lick sth , lick at sth
▪
The ~ licked the roof of the house.
▪ damage sth
▪ consume sth , destroy sth , gut sth
▪
The ~ gutted the building, leaving just a charred shell.
FIRE + NOUN
▪ safety
▪
legislation related to ~ safety
▪ hazard , risk
▪
Foam-filled couches are a serious ~ hazard.
▪ drill , practice ( BrE )
▪
We have regular ~ drills.
(see also fire alarm )
▪ brigade ( BrE ), department ( AmE ), service ( BrE )
▪
Call the ~ brigade/department!
▪ crew
▪
Fire crews arrived and began to fight the flames.
▪ chief , commissioner , marshal , officer , official
▪ station
▪ engine , truck ( AmE )
▪ hydrant
▪ hose , sprinkler
▪ extinguisher
▪ escape
▪
The thief got away down the ~ escape.
▪ door
▪ damage
▪
The building suffered extensive ~ damage.
▪ code ( AmE )
▪
~ code violations
▪ prevention
▪ season ( esp. AmE )
▪
In 2008, the ~ season started with a huge fire in New Mexico.
PHRASES
▪ bring a ~ under control
▪
Firefighters have now managed to bring the ~ under control.
▪ set ~ to sth
▪
Someone had set ~ to her car.
2 burning fuel for cooking/heating
ADJECTIVE
▪ blazing , crackling , hot , roaring , warm
▪ dying , smouldering/smoldering
▪ flickering
▪ little
▪ open
▪ charcoal , coal , log , oil , wood
▪ camp (usually campfire )
▪ cooking
VERB + FIRE
▪ build , make
▪ kindle , light
▪
Kim had managed to kindle a little ~ of dry grass.
▪ feed , poke , stir , stoke , stoke up , tend
▪
She fed the ~ with the branches next to her.
▪
On cold nights we stoked up the ~ to a blaze.
▪ put sth on
▪
Put some more wood on the ~.
▪ cook on , cook over
▪
When we go on safari we like to cook on an open ~.
FIRE + VERB
▪ burn
▪
Although it was summer a ~ burned in the hearth.
▪ roar
▪
A ~ roaring in the hearth added warmth to the room.
▪ kindle , light
▪
We had plenty of dry wood, so the ~ lit easily.
▪ die , die down
▪
The ~ was beginning to die down.
▪ burn itself out , burn out , go out
▪ crackle
▪ glow
▪ flicker
▪ smoke
▪
The ~ smoked instead of burning properly.
PHRASES
▪ the glow from a ~ , the glow of a ~
▪
The interior was only lit by the golden glow of the ~.
3 ( esp. BrE ) apparatus for heating rooms
ADJECTIVE
▪ electric , gas
VERB + FIRE
▪ light , put on , switch on , turn on
▪
Use a match to light the gas ~.
▪ switch off , turn off
FIRE + VERB
▪ be off , be on
▪
Is the ~ still on?
4 shots from guns
ADJECTIVE
▪ heavy , withering ( esp. AmE )
▪ anti-aircraft , covering , friendly
▪
The commandos pushed forward under the covering ~ of their artillery.
▪
Several soldiers were killed in friendly ~ due a mistake by allied forces.
▪ enemy , hostile
▪ direct , indirect
▪ incoming
▪ automatic
▪ rapid
▪ artillery , sniper
▪ cannon , machine-gun , mortar , rifle
… OF FIRE
▪ burst
▪
a burst of machine-gun ~
VERB + FIRE
▪ open
▪
The troops opened ~ on the crowd.
▪ return
▪
She returned ~ from behind the low wall.
▪ exchange
▪ cease , hold
▪
‘Cease ~!’ He yelled.
▪
They were told to hold their ~ until the enemy came closer.
▪ be under , come under
▪
We were under constant ~ from enemy snipers.
▪
The EU came under ~ from the US over its biotech policy. ( figurative )
▪ draw
▪
A few soldiers were sent out to draw (= attract) the enemy's ~.
▪ avoid , dodge
FIRE + VERB
▪ rain down
▪
Enemy ~ continued to rain down.
▪ hit sb/sth
PHRASES
▪ be in the line of ~
▪
Unfortunately he was in the line of ~ (= between the people shooting and what they were shooting at) and got shot.
II.
verb
ADVERB
▪ blindly , indiscriminately , randomly , wildly
▪
She ~d blindly into the mass of shadows.
▪ directly
▪
A dense volley of missiles was ~d directly at the ship.
▪ rapidly
▪ continuously , repeatedly
▪ accidentally
▪ accurately
▪ wide
▪
Whitlock purposely ~d wide.
▪ back
▪ off
▪
They ~d off a volley of shots.
VERB + FIRE
▪ be ready to
▪
He grabbed the shotgun, ready to ~ if anyone entered.
▪ order sb to
▪
He ordered the troops to ~ over the heads of the crowd.
PREPOSITION
▪ at
▪
She ~d a revolver at her attacker.
▪ into
▪
He ~d the gun into the air.
▪ on , upon
▪
The police ~d on protesters in the square.
Fire is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑ cannon , ↑ engine , ↑ gun , ↑ helicopter , ↑ rocket , ↑ tank
Fire is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ agent , ↑ ammunition , ↑ arrow , ↑ assistant , ↑ barrage , ↑ beam , ↑ blank , ↑ bullet , ↑ cannon , ↑ clay , ↑ employee , ↑ engine , ↑ flare , ↑ furnace , ↑ grenade , ↑ gun , ↑ imagination , ↑ laser , ↑ manager , ↑ missile , ↑ mortar , ↑ pistol , ↑ pottery , ↑ question , ↑ revolver , ↑ rifle , ↑ rocket , ↑ round , ↑ shell , ↑ shot , ↑ shotgun , ↑ staff , ↑ torpedo , ↑ volley , ↑ weapon , ↑ worker