heap coals of fire on someone's head

verb

To excite remorse in someone by returning good for evil.

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Meanings

verbheap coals of fire on someone's head (third-person singular simple present heaps coals of fire on someone's head, present participle heaping coals of fire on someone's head, simple past and past participle heaped coals of fire on someone's head)

present singular third person heaps coals of fire on someone's head · participle present heaping coals of fire on someone's head · participle past heaped coals of fire on someone's head · past heaped coals of fire on someone's head · alternative heap coals of fire upon someone's head

  1. intransitiveTo excite remorse in someone by returning good for evil.

    Therefore if thine enemie hunger, feed him: if he thirst, giue him drink. For in so doing thou shalt heape coales of fire on his head.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 12:20
    1 more example

    Hardy was irritated for a moment, and then was filled with ruth for the poor wrong-headed youngster who was heaping up coals of fire for his own head.

    1859–1861, [Thomas Hughes], “The Storm Rages”, in Tom Brown at Oxford: […], part 1st, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1861, →OCLC, page 258

Origin

An allusion to Romans 12:20 in the Bible.

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Cite this entry
APA

heap coals of fire on someone's head. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heap%20coals%20of%20fire%20on%20someone's%20head

MLA

“heap coals of fire on someone's head.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heap%20coals%20of%20fire%20on%20someone's%20head. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “heap coals of fire on someone's head,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heap%20coals%20of%20fire%20on%20someone's%20head.

Source: heap coals of fire on someone's head on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.