collocations.org

Collocations for fire - noun

1. destructive flames

ADJECTIVE

big, huge
fierce, raging
serious
catastrophic, devastating, disastrous
house, kitchen
bush, forest, wild-land (AmE)
electrical

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VERB + fire

be on
The house is on fire!
catch
A lantern was knocked over and the barn caught fire.
cause, set sth on, start
Groups of rioters attacked and set the police headquarters on fire.
ignite, spark
A missile ignited a fire that burned for three days.
fan
Strong winds fanned the fire.
add fuel to, fuel (both figurative)
Frustrated ambitions can fuel the fire of anger and resentment.
extinguish, put out
douse, smother
The sprinkler system came on and doused the fire.
fight
He joined the crowds of men and women fighting the fire.
contain, control
Firefighters struggled to control the fire.
prevent
be damaged by, be damaged in, be destroyed by, be destroyed in
The factory was destroyed in a fire started by arsonists.
be killed by, be killed in, die in
survive

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fire + VERB

occur
break out, erupt, start
A fire broke out in the mail room.
go out
blaze, burn, rage
The fire burned for three days before it was finally contained.
engulf sb/sth, spread, sweep through sth
In 1925 a disastrous fire swept through the museum.
lick sth, lick at sth
The fire licked the roof of the house.
damage sth
consume sth, destroy sth, gut sth
The fire gutted the building, leaving just a charred shell.

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fire + NOUN

safety
legislation related to fire safety
hazard, risk
Foam-filled couches are a serious fire hazard.
drill, practice (BrE)
We have regular fire drills.
brigade (BrE), department (AmE), service (BrE)
Call the fire 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 fire escape.
door
damage
The building suffered extensive fire damage.
code (AmE)
fire code violations
prevention
season (esp. AmE)
In 2008, the fire season started with a huge fire in New Mexico.

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PHRASES

bring a fire under control
Firefighters have now managed to bring the fire under control.
set fire to sth
Someone had set fire to her car.

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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

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VERB + fire

build, make
kindle, light
Kim had managed to kindle a little fire of dry grass.
feed, poke, stir, stoke, stoke up, tend
She fed the fire with the branches next to her.
On cold nights we stoked up the fire to a blaze.
put sth on
Put some more wood on the fire.
cook on, cook over
When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.

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fire + VERB

burn
Although it was summer a fire burned in the hearth.
roar
A fire roaring in the hearth added warmth to the room.
kindle, light
We had plenty of dry wood, so the fire lit easily.
die, die down
The fire was beginning to die down.
burn itself out, burn out, go out
crackle
glow
flicker
smoke
The fire smoked instead of burning properly.

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PHRASES

the glow from a fire, the glow of a fire
The interior was only lit by the golden glow of the fire.

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3. (esp. BrE) apparatus for heating rooms

ADJECTIVE

electric, gas

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VERB + fire

light, put on, switch on, turn on
Use a match to light the gas fire.
switch off, turn off

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fire + VERB

be off, be on
Is the fire still on?

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4. shots from guns

ADJECTIVE

heavy, withering (esp. AmE)
anti-aircraft, covering, friendly
The commandos pushed forward under the covering fire of their artillery.
Several soldiers were killed in friendly fire due a mistake by allied forces.
enemy, hostile
direct, indirect
incoming
automatic
rapid
artillery, sniper
cannon, machine-gun, mortar, rifle

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… OF FIRE

burst
a burst of machine-gun fire

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VERB + fire

open
The troops opened fire on the crowd.
return
She returned fire from behind the low wall.
exchange
cease, hold
‘Cease fire!’ He yelled.
They were told to hold their fire until the enemy came closer.
be under, come under
We were under constant fire from enemy snipers.
The EU came under fire from the US over its biotech policy. (figurative)
draw
A few soldiers were sent out to draw (= attract) the enemy's fire.
avoid, dodge

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fire + VERB

rain down
Enemy fire continued to rain down.
hit sb/sth

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PHRASES

be in the line of fire
Unfortunately he was in the line of fire (= between the people shooting and what they were shooting at) and got shot.

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Collocations for fire - verb

ADVERB

blindly, indiscriminately, randomly, wildly
She fired blindly into the mass of shadows.
directly
A dense volley of missiles was fired directly at the ship.
rapidly
continuously, repeatedly
accidentally
accurately
wide
Whitlock purposely fired wide.
back
off
They fired off a volley of shots.

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VERB + fire

be ready to
He grabbed the shotgun, ready to fire if anyone entered.
order sb to
He ordered the troops to fire over the heads of the crowd.

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PREPOSITION

at
She fired a revolver at her attacker.
into
He fired the gun into the air.
on, upon
The police fired on protesters in the square.

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Fire is used with these nouns as the subject:
cannon, engine, gun, helicopter, rocket, tank

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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

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