start a fire

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.

Chilean police announced on Thursday the arrest of a third person in the country's wildfire-ravaged south who they said was deliberately trying to start a fire.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

“Now everything is so wet it is hard to even start a fire with wood,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 13, 2025

That magnitude of surge could cause transmission lines that remained energized to heat up, sag, arc and potentially start a fire, experts said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2025

"We get wood, start a fire, make dough, put it into portions, let it rise. This is what we're doing now. This process takes at least three hours," she says.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2024

But even if they got past him unrecognized, how were they going to start a fire while the others were still standing around?

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke