Word.ws English Dictionary

setting the world on fire

setting the world on fire is the present participle and gerund 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”

Questions about setting the world on fire

What is setting the world on fire the present participle and gerund of?
Setting the world on fire is the present participle and gerund of set the world on fire.

Words near setting the world on fire in the dictionary

  1. setting the stage
  2. setting the table
  3. setting the Thames on fire
  4. setting the tone
  5. setting the wheels in motion
  6. setting the world on fire
  7. setting the world to rights
  8. setting time
  9. setting times
  10. setting to
  11. setting to music

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: setting the world on fire (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: “setting the world on fire.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/setting_the_world_on_fire. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.