Dictionary

fight fire with fire en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Either from the practice of starting back fires to prevent the uncontrolled spread of wildfires, or from gunfire which is fought by firing back at the enemy.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To respond to an attack with a similar or identical counter-attack (e.g. to respond to gunfire with reciprocal gunfire).
   • Fight fire with fire 2010 July 27, Blizzard, quoting Firebat, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, v1.0, Blizzard Entertainment, Microsoft Windows:
   • The Democratic Party’s organizers have found plenty of voters who are eager for the chance to stand against the president and, in Newsom’s words, “fight fire with fire” in the gerrymandering wars. 2025 October 27, Russell Berman, “‘California Is Allowed to Hit Back’”, in The Atlantic:
   • Close enough but not too far / Maybe you know where you are / Fightin' fire with fire 1983, Talking Heads, “Burning Down the House”, in Speaking in Tongues:

Forms

Relateds

take a hair of the dog that bit one · bring a knife to a gunfight · set a thief to catch a thief · eye for an eye · use a sledgehammer to crack a nut

Translations (30)

sv sätta hårt mot hårt (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · nl vuur met vuur bestrijden (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · es combatir el fuego con fuego (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · tr ateşe ateşle karşılık vermek (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · pt combater fogo com fogo (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · sh klȉn se klȉnom ìzbījā (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · cmn 以毒攻毒 (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · no bekjempe ild med ild (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · it combattere ad armi pari (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · fi panna kova kovaa vastaan (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · ro a scoate cuiul cu cui (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · vi dĩ độc trị độc (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · sv ont skall med ont fördrivas (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · pl wybijać klin klinem (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · vi lấy độc trị độc (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · sh кли̏н се кли̏ном ѝзбӣја̄ (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · da bekæmpe ild med ild (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · am እሳት ጋር እሳት ለመዋጋት (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · pl wybić klin klinem (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · it combattere alla pari (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · hi विरोधपूर्ण तरीका इस्तेमाल करना (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · ca combatre el foc amb foc (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · ro a răspunde la foc cu foc (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · fi taistella tulella tulta vastaan (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · is berjast eld með eldi (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · de Feuer mit Feuer bekämpfen (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · fr combattre le mal par le mal (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · fr combattre le feu par le feu (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · bg клин клин изби́ва (respond to an attack with a counter-attack) · ur مخالفت مکمل طریقہ استعمال کرنا (respond to an attack with a counter-attack)