set fire to

present singular third person sets fire to · participle present setting fire to · dialectal participle past setten fire to · alternative archaic poetic set fire unto · alternative obsolete set fire in · alternative obsolete set fire on · alternative obsolete set fire upon · alternative obsolete set fire of · alternative obsolete set fire by · alternative obsolete set fire into

1. transitiveTo cause (something) to be on fire; to set (something) alight.First known use 16th c.

   They set fire to the house.

   1 more example

   A freight train became completely derailed, blocking the tunnel entrance, and six of the wagons rolled down the mountainside, demolishing and setting fire on their way to a guard house, in which three soldiers were killed.

   1941 October, “Notes and News: A Serious Swiss Derailment”, in Railway Magazine, page 469

   Synonyms: set light, set on fire, torch

2. figurativelytransitiveTo destroy or dismantle (something).

   As soon as the new CEO arrived, he started setting fire to the old way of doing things.

3. figurativelytransitiveTo stir up intense emotion or action in (something).

   All it took was one word to set fire to the crowd.

   Synonyms: set on fire