put a match to

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But the botched raid nonetheless put a match to the fuse of the Civil War.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2024

“You don’t put a big log on the fire and put a match to it and expect it to burn — it’s not going to happen. Fires are driven by kindle.”

From New York Times • Nov. 12, 2018

It was as if someone had put a match to a leaking gas pipe.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Yes, it seems to be gone," said Uncle Tad, looking carefully around the tent, after he had put a match to the wood kindlings.

From Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue in the Big Woods by Nosworthy, Florence England

This served to put a match to the explosive wrath of those whose opposition hitherto had been that of rats behind a wainscot.

From A Labrador Doctor The Autobiography of Wilfred Thomason Grenfell by Grenfell, Wilfred Thomason, Sir