Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fight fire with fire

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.79 in modern English

Syllables
fight- -fire with- -fire
IPA
36
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
5
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To respond to an attack with a similar or identical counter-attack (e.g. to respond to gunfire with reciprocal gunfire).

Example Sentences

Etymology

Either from the practice of starting back fires to prevent the uncontrolled spread of wildfires, or from gunfire which is fought by firing back at the enemy.

Inflected Forms

fights fire with fire (present, singular) fighting fire with fire (participle, present) fought fire with fire (participle, past) fought fire with fire (past)

Phrases

bring a knife to a gunfight eye for an eye set a thief to catch a thief take a hair of the dog that bit one use a sledgehammer to crack a nut

Frequently Paired Words

bring a knife to a gunfight eye for an eye set a thief to catch a thief take a hair of the dog that bit one use a sledgehammer to crack a nut

Questions

What does fight fire with fire mean?
To respond to an attack with a similar or identical counter-attack (e.g. to respond to gunfire with reciprocal gunfire).
Where does fight fire with fire come from?
Either from the practice of starting back fires to prevent the uncontrolled spread of wildfires, or from gunfire which is fought by firing back at the enemy.

How to pronounce fight fire with fire

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “fight fire with fire”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “fight fire with fire”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “fight fire with fire” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.