phrasal verb · neutral
set fire to
UK/sɛt ˈfaɪə tuː/US/sɛt ˈfaɪər tuː/SET·FIRE·to
speakingtask2
to deliberately or accidentally cause something to start burning
Examples
“Unknown vandals set fire to several cars in the car park.”
“Protesters set fire to an effigy outside the embassy.”
“They were accused of setting fire to the warehouse to claim insurance.”
Band 8 sentence
“Investigators concluded that the blaze had been deliberately set fire to in order to conceal evidence of theft.”
Collocations
- set fire to + noun
- accused of setting fire to
Word family
set verbfire noun/verb
Common mistakes
set fire on the building→set fire to the building
make fire to the house→set fire to the house
Say it for a higher band
5light→6burn→7+set fire to
Synonyms
ignite
torch
Easily confused
ignite
“A spark can ignite dry leaves.”
torch
“They torched several cars during the raid.”
Related words
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In set …
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