held someone's feet to the fire

A form of hold someone's feet to the fire — To maintain personal, social, political, or legal pressure on someone in order to induce them to comply with one's desires; to hold someone accountable for their actions.

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Meanings

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of hold someone's feet to the fire
Cite this entry
APA

held someone's feet to the fire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/held%20someone's%20feet%20to%20the%20fire

MLA

“held someone's feet to the fire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/held%20someone's%20feet%20to%20the%20fire. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “held someone's feet to the fire,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/held%20someone's%20feet%20to%20the%20fire.

Source: held someone's feet to the fire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.