How to Use set fire to in a Sentence

set fire to

idiom
Definition of set fire tonext
  • The men set fire to Harwin’s chambers, killing him and the Hand.
    — Josh St. Clair, Men's Health, 26 Sep. 2022
  • One day, alone in her apartment, Mary set fire to the curtains.
    — Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
  • Her 5-year-old son was killed when bandits set fire to her home.
    — Dánica Coto, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Aug. 2023
  • Shapiro also set fire to Barbie dolls on a BBQ in protest.
    — James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 July 2023
  • Along with his wife and three children, Jaya Prakash escaped to the hills once more, but the cops set fire to his home.
    — Sean Williams, Harper's Magazine, 11 Sep. 2023
  • But another moment sees a group set fire to a large swath of land.
    — Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 11 Oct. 2023
  • In Brussels, fans set fire to a car and some electric scooters.
    — Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2022
  • The first shot from the film shows Mikkelsen surrounded by swirling smoke as workers behind him set fire to the heath.
    — Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Sep. 2022
  • There’s a new crop of books coming that set fire to the perfect mom fantasy.
    — Michelle Singletary, Washington Post, 1 Jan. 2023
  • The crematorium wasn’t functioning that day, and their job was to set fire to the corpses in the open air.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 5 Aug. 2022
  • Police allege the woman had threatened her sister with a gun and set fire to the home.
    — Jeremy Childs, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2023
  • Hundreds of Muslim men knocked down the walls, desecrated the nave, burned copies of the Bible, and set fire to the furniture.
    — Hasan Ali, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Aug. 2023
  • Whole families died when the hooded vandals set fire to their homes.
    — Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023
  • Within days of her public appearance, the husband set fire to his wife and killed her.
    — Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023
  • Mobs have set fire to over 350 churches and vandalized over a dozen temples.
    — Sushant Singh, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2023
  • The official said prisoners set fire to a warehouse full of prison uniforms, which caused the blaze.
    — Samya Kullab, ajc, 15 Oct. 2022
  • The militants blocked roads leading into the city and set fire to tires in the middle of the streets, according to witnesses and videos of the scene.
    — Aaron Boxerman, WSJ, 20 Sep. 2022
  • The duo set fire to one house, shoot an encroaching dog, and shoot another old man through a darkened screen.
    — Matt Gutman, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2023
  • Crowds set fire to the prime minister’s house and the president ending up fleeing the country.
    — Anderson Tepper, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2022
  • Protesters set fire to a police station, vandalized a small airport used by the armed forces, and marched in the streets.
    — Arkansas Online, 13 Dec. 2022
  • In 2021 someone set fire to a Guatemalan immigrant’s sleeping bag, leading to the man’s death from burn injuries.
    — Lauren Smiley, WIRED, 7 Nov. 2023
  • Months after its foundation in 2006, a group of people broke in during the night and set fire to the baby chimps' sleeping place, killing two out of the five that were there at the time.
    — Xiaofei Xu and Marguerite Lacroix, CNN, 23 Sep. 2022
  • Wayne Collins was accused of being part of a gang which shot at police and set fire to a Birmingham pub during the 2011 riots.
    — Jane Bradley, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2022
  • Even before someone set fire to a child’s gravestone in a historic Black cemetery in Georgetown, that slab of stone pulled at strangers.
    — Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, 19 July 2023
  • Several years prior, his mother set fire to the family’s house, with him in it.
    — Matt Richtel Bee Trofort, New York Times, 13 Dec. 2022
  • During the standoff, Nelson allegedly set fire to the home’s garage with himself still in it but refused to leave the house, police said.
    — Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Sep. 2023
  • Comcast hasn’t set fire to any legacy revenue streams or brands to boost subscriptions.
    — Scott Mendelson, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022
  • According to court filings, Aslanian promised to pay someone $2,000 to set fire to the building.
    — Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2024
  • An armed man believed to have set fire to a synagogue in northwestern France was shot and killed by police on Friday.
    — Elizabeth Pritchett, Fox News, 17 May 2024
  • As the condition of the property deteriorated, Mayer started to lose sleep that someone might accidentally set fire to the place.
    — Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 1 Mar. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'set fire to.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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