catch on fire

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English

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Verb

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catch on fire (third-person singular simple present catches on fire, present participle catching on fire, simple past and past participle caught on fire)

  1. (informal, sometimes proscribed) Synonym of catch fire

Usage notes

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Many authorities proscribe catch on fire as an ungrammatical error for catch fire, in which catch is a transitive verb with the object fire. Nevertheless the use with on is common, particularly in speech.