start a fire
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The submarine vanished on November 15, 2017 after reporting that seawater had entered the ventilation system, causing a battery on the vessel to short-circuit and start a fire.
From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026
“Now everything is so wet it is hard to even start a fire with wood,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 13, 2025
"Because there is no cooking gas, no food. When we want to have a cup of tea, I collect leaves to start a fire."
From BBC • May 2, 2025
That magnitude of surge could cause transmission lines that remained energized to heat up, sag, arc and potentially start a fire, experts said.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2025
I decided that my best plan would be to wait for a really sunny day and then use my glasses to focus the sunlight on a piece of my clothing and start a fire.
From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon
