Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

light a fire under

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.94 in modern English

Syllables
light a -fire un-der
IPA
23
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
3
Syllables
12
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To motivate or encourage (someone) to start sooner or move faster.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

Referring to a time when, if chimney sweeps were afraid to ascend a chimney, the fire would be lit under them in order to motivate them to climb to the top.

Usage

Inflected Forms

lights a fire under (present, singular) lighting a fire under (participle, present) lit a fire under (participle, past) lit a fire under (past)

Questions

What does light a fire under mean?
To motivate or encourage (someone) to start sooner or move faster.
Where does light a fire under come from?
Referring to a time when, if chimney sweeps were afraid to ascend a chimney, the fire would be lit under them in order to motivate them to climb to the top.

How to pronounce light a fire under

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “light a fire under”.
  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 “light a fire under”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “light a fire under” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.