on fire
341
1.0
- idiom
- /ɑn faɪər/
:
en llamas
- The air was on fire. "I have never even thought it," the old man said.
- set on fire
- be on fire
- a building on fire
That is a flamethrower that is on fire today.
- That is a flamethrower that is on fire today.
- He said if the house is on fire, just get out of the house.
- And you light one on fire and whoosh, it just explodes.
- All at once, the redwoods are on fire in California.
- I saw the, it was just, there was a police car on fire on both ends of my street.
- So the lesson here is that when you see something on fire, everyone's instinct is to run.
- But yeah, it's been roasted on fire this morning.
Examples
-
But within a second, she felt as though her legs and one arm were on fire.
Academic text (2011) -
It's like my belly is on fire, or like my blood is boiling.
-
If my house is on fire I would take this one.
-
My body seemed on fire and I could not sleep.
-
I just woke up across the street, and the church was on fire.
Academic text (2010) -
Some cars are still on fire, and the debris is everywhere.
-
My lips are on fire and I'm in a lot of pain.
-
He said if the house is on fire, just get out of the house.
-
Afore it was over, half of Beldan was on fire or falling down into the streets.
Fiction book (1991) -
There was a car on fire on the side of the road, and smoke filled the air.
Synonyms
14
5.5
On fire or shining brightly with color
7
6.0
Burning with fire or full of strong feeling such as desire
6
6.7
On fire or very full of strong feeling
5
5.4
Completely covered in flames and burning
4
6.1
Shining with light or small fire, for example candles
1
3.5
Shining very brightly like the sun
Glowing brightly as if lit by fire
Having enough light to see easily
Burning with a bright fire or very bright color
Antonyms
How Burning
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase uses a metaphorical extension: 'fire' evokes intensity/excitement and 'on' marks being in that state, so there is a loose compositional link to high activity. However, the specific sense 'performing exceptionally well' is a figurative, language-specific extension that a B1 learner who only knows the literal meanings may not reliably infer without prior exposure.
Etymology
On fire comes from the clear image of flames on something: if a tree or house has fire on it, people say it is on fire. So it means 'burning'.