put one's finger in the fire

verb

To suffer unpleasant, painful, or costly consequences as a result of becoming involved in a risky or ill-advised situation.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbput one's finger in the fire (third-person singular simple present puts one's finger in the fire, present participle putting one's finger in the fire, simple past and past participle put one's finger in the fire)

present singular third person puts one's finger in the fire · participle present putting one's finger in the fire

  1. idiomaticinformalTo suffer unpleasant, painful, or costly consequences as a result of becoming involved in a risky or ill-advised situation.
Cite this entry
APA

put one's finger in the fire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20one's%20finger%20in%20the%20fire

MLA

“put one's finger in the fire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20one's%20finger%20in%20the%20fire. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put one's finger in the fire,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20one's%20finger%20in%20the%20fire.

Source: put one's finger in the fire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.