to set alight
1
4.2
- phrasal verb
- /sɛt əˈlaɪt/
- UK
:
incendiar
- Throughout the night, over forty buildings were set alight in the city centre.
Examples
-
Throughout the night, over forty buildings were set alight in the city centre.
Blog text (21) -
Houses, shops, and clothing bazaars were set alight in a dozen parts of the city.
-
Houses, shops, and clothing bazaars were set alight in a dozen parts of the city.
Academic text (2018) -
Smoke from fires set alight by frenzied mobs darkened the sky over the town.
Academic text (2018) -
There are huge hay rounds with cans of petrol beside them ready to set alight when the police attack; there is a steel wall of sitex.
Blog text (23) -
With the wind at the Umiad's backs, the Karajite camp was set alight with the smoke and heat panicking horses and reducing the Karajite's defence to chaos.
-
A local social club was set alight while people were inside, and stolen cars were used to block the entrances.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To be on fire or damage something with heat
110
3.0
Make something start burning
76
6.5
To set fire to something on purpose
66
4.0
To make something start burning
8
7.4
To catch fire or make something burn
5
4.8
To make something start burning
4
3.7
To make wood, paper, or other material start to burn
2
4.1
Make something start to burn
1
5.1
To make something start burning
1
5.7
To make something start burning, for example paper or dry grass
To make something start to burn, like a fire or a strong feeling
To set fire to something
Antonyms
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to cause something to start burning' is directly derivable from combining 'set' (to cause/initiate) with 'alight' (aflame/visible fire); this is a straightforward causative/resultative composition equivalent to 'set on fire'. A B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning because the semantic roles follow normal English composition patterns.
Etymology
The verb set alight shows a simple picture: you set, meaning 'put' or 'cause', a flame to something and make it alight, meaning 'burn'. So it means 'to make something burn'.