Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: POTTERY, CERAMICS

fire

2 verb
     
fire2 S3 W3
1

shoot

[intransitive and transitive] to shoot bullets or bombs
fire at/on/into
Soldiers fired on the crowd.
fire something at somebody
The police fired two shots at the suspects before they surrendered.
fire a gun/weapon/rifle etc (=make it shoot)
the sound of a gun being fired
fire bullets/missiles/rockets etc
Guerrillas fired five rockets at the capital yesterday, killing 23 people.
2

job

[transitive] to force someone to leave their job [= sack British English]
be/get fired
She didn't want to get fired.
fire somebody from something
I've just been fired from my job, and I don't know what to do.
fire somebody for something
The airline fired him for being drunk.
3

excite

[transitive] to make someone feel interested in something and excited about it [= inspire]
be fired with enthusiasm
I was fired with enthusiasm to go traveling in Asia.
fire somebody's enthusiasm/imagination
stories of magic and adventure that fire children's imaginations
4

questions

fire questions at somebody

to ask someone a lot of questions quickly, often in order to criticize them
5

wood-fired/gas-fired/coal-fired

using wood, gas, or coal as fuel:
a gas-fired stove
a coal-fired boiler
6

clay

[transitive]TIP to bake bricks, clay pots etc in a kiln:
fired earthenware
7

engine

[intransitive]TTC if a vehicle's engine fires, the petrol is lit to make the engine work
8

be firing on all cylinders

informal to be thinking or doing something well, using all your mental abilities and energy:
When the team's firing on all cylinders, they can beat the best in the league.

fire away

phrasal verb
[only in imperative] spoken used to tell someone that you are ready to answer questions:
'Do you mind if I ask you something, Woody?' 'Fire away.'

fire back

phrasal verb
to quickly and angrily answer a question or remark
fire back at
President Bush has fired back at his critics.

fire something ↔ off

phrasal verb
1 to shoot a bullet, bomb etc into the air:
Chuck reloaded and fired off both barrels.
Mexicans have a tradition of firing off guns to welcome in the new year.
2 to quickly send an angry letter to someone:
I fired off a furious letter to the editor.

fire somebody ↔ up

phrasal verb
to make someone become very excited, interested, or angry:
It was alarming the way she got so fired up about small things.
Definition of fire from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic POTTERY, CERAMICS
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