fought fire with fire

A form of fight fire with fire — To respond to an attack with a similar or identical counter-attack (e.g. to respond to gunfire with reciprocal gunfire).

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Meanings

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of fight fire with fire
Cite this entry
APA

fought fire with fire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fought%20fire%20with%20fire

MLA

“fought fire with fire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fought%20fire%20with%20fire. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fought fire with fire,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fought%20fire%20with%20fire.

Source: fought fire with fire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.