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Catch fire   /kætʃ fˈaɪər/   Listen
Catch fire

verb
1.
Start to burn or burst into flames.  Synonyms: combust, conflagrate, erupt, ignite, take fire.  "The oily rags combusted spontaneously"






WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University








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"Catch fire" Quotes from Famous Books



... "I'll read it from Mr. Cornell's mind, mother. The law of least reaction can be demonstrated by the following: If a bucket of mixed wood-shavings and gasoline are heated, there is a calculable probability that the gasoline will catch fire first because the gasoline is ...
— Highways in Hiding • George Oliver Smith

... did that tree catch fire,' Horatia suddenly ejaculated as a tall poplar was seen blazing, 'and after such ...
— Sarah's School Friend • May Baldwin

... of iron,' or a stone, or a 'weapon of wood, whereby a man may die.' If we do what is likely to have a given result, we are responsible for that result, should it come about, even though we did not consciously seek to bring it. That is plain common sense. 'I never thought the house would catch fire' is no defence from the guilt of burning it down, if we fired a revolver into a powder barrel. Further, if the fatal blow was struck in 'hatred,' or if the slayer had lain in ambush to catch his victim, he was not allowed shelter. These careful definitions ...
— Expositions Of Holy Scripture - Volume I: St. Luke, Chaps. I to XII • Alexander Maclaren

... overprotected fibre. He perceived it even in Barbara—a sort of sentiment-proof overall, a species of mistrust of the emotional or lyrical, a kind of contempt of sympathy and feeling. And every day he was more and more tempted to lay rude hands on this garment; to see whether he could not make her catch fire, and flare up with some emotion or idea. In spite of her tantalizing, youthful self-possession, he saw that she felt this longing in him, and now and then he caught a glimpse of a streak of recklessness in her ...
— Forsyte Saga • John Galsworthy

... starting the fire with kerosene; leaving gas jets burning where curtains of clothing may be blown into the flame; leaving clothing or paper too near a fire; throwing matches you thought had been put out into paper or other material which will catch fire easily; leaving oily or greasy rags where they will easily overheat or take fire spontaneously; leaving objects on stairs and in hallways which will cause others to fall; leaving scalding water where a child ...
— Scouting For Girls, Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts • Girl Scouts

... had he been educated thoroughly, the poetic vein, which gave the chief charm to his mind and conversation, would have been destroyed. As it was, he invariably confined himself to logic so long as his emotions remained untouched; but there were moments when his blood seemed to catch fire, and he broke away from the calm reasoning which serves for placid men. He then spoke with poetry, and with an accent which affected the nerves of all who heard him. On this afternoon he began with a little sketch of the history of Job, and he then detailed his notion that the Arab, who ...
— The Romance of the Coast • James Runciman

... with his own hands, their small, rude home; and it stood deep in the wild wood, whose trees would, at times, catch fire from the sparks thrown from the steam en-gines some miles off. Near the Gar-field home was their field of grain; one day this caught fire, and in trying to save his wheat, the fa-ther of lit-tle James lost his ...
— Lives of the Presidents Told in Words of One Syllable • Jean S. Remy

... their distorted minds, to get the exact location of this rival of the Comstock lode. The aged man was tied hand and foot and beaten and abused the whole night long. In pushing splinters under his toenails, the lamp was upset, kerosene was spilled over his feet to catch fire. A quarrel ensued as to whether the fire should be extinguished or allowed to burn. A fist-fight developed and they abandoned the cabin, leaving Maddy to ...
— David Lannarck, Midget - An Adventure Story • George S. Harney

... all was quiet again. The fire was believed to have originated through a bullet striking the ammunition in the equipment of one of those who still lay out in front of the trenches. Sometimes the clothing would catch fire and then the body, which for nearly two months had been lying out in the open, would burn for hours. Once an exploding shell blew a corpse right into the front trench. Then it had to be taken away and buried as decently as ...
— The 28th: A Record of War Service in the Australian Imperial Force, 1915-19, Vol. I • Herbert Brayley Collett



Words linked to "Catch fire" :   burn, light up, ignite, conflagrate, erupt, take fire, blow out, turn, combust, change state, catch



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