to fire up
55
3.5
- phrasal verb
- /faɪər ʌp/
- Informal
:
encender
- I just fire up the Express VPN app, change my location to the UK, refresh Netflix and that's it.
- fire up the engine
- fire up the computer
- fire up the PC
So let's fire her up and watch her go.
- So let's fire her up and watch her go.
- So they get it fired up and get the alert underway.
- You know, not all the Pistons are firing up there.
Examples
-
And imagine if you can fire up Google Earth and you can go to any part of the world and see it live.
-
Before the presentation, make sure to fire up the projector so everyone can see the slides.
-
All right, let's fire it up and see how well it sounds.
-
Now, just fire up the engines here.
-
And then you can fire up Netflix again and get all of that good American stuff.
-
All right, my friends, it's time to fire up this magnificent beast.
-
Wayne laughs as he and the sheriff fire up their boat engines.
Fiction book (1998) -
Once we got inside, we fired up the team laptop and turned on both TVs.
Blog text (16) -
All right, let's fire up some gaming benchmarks.
-
You know, I can fire up the downstairs hot tub for you if you'd like.
Synonyms
550
1.0
To make a machine or device start working
262
3.5
To start working after being switched on
38
3.0
To make a machine or system begin to work
32
1.6
To make a device like a light start working by pressing a button or moving a switch
28
4.5
To start a computer and load its operating system
3
5.2
Start a computer system or service so it is ready to use
2
4.4
To start a machine by turning a handle
To set up a device or program so it is ready to use
Antonyms
How Ready
504
3.7
- Informal
55
3.5
- Specialized
28
4.5
32
1.6
4
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to start or switch on' is motivated by the metaphor of igniting or activating (fire) combined with an upward/completive particle (up), so a learner who knows 'fire' in the senses 'ignite' or 'excite' and 'up' as increase/activate can plausibly infer the meaning. However the mapping is somewhat metaphorical and not strictly compositional—learners who only know 'fire' as 'to excite' or only as 'to shoot' may not predict the machine-start sense—so it is partially transparent but not fully predictable.
Etymology
Fire up comes from starting engines and machines: you give a spark so the engine fires and the machine begins to work. That's why fire up means 'to start' a device, computer, or program.