Word.ws English Dictionary

set the world afire

set the world afire is the alternative form of set the world on fire.

Meaning of set the world on fire

Verb

set the world on fire (third-person singular simple present sets the world on fire, present participle setting the world on fire, simple past and past participle set the world on fire)

  1. (idiomatic, informal) To do something remarkable or sensational.
    • Tonight
      We are young.
      So let’s set the world on fire.
      We can burn brighter than the sun.2011, Fun, “We Are Young”

Forms of set the world afire

third-person singular presentsets the world afire
present participlesetting the world afire
past participleset the world afire
pastset the world afire

Questions about set the world afire

What is set the world afire the alternative form of?
Set the world afire is the alternative form of set the world on fire.

Words near set the world afire in the dictionary

  1. set the table
  2. set the Thames on fire
  3. set the tone
  4. set the wheels in motion
  5. set the world ablaze
  6. set the world afire
  7. set the world aflame
  8. set the world alight
  9. set the world on fire
  10. set the world to rights
  11. set theoretically

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: set the world afire (page history and authors); set the world on fire (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “set the world afire.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/set_the_world_afire. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.