Word.ws English Dictionary

spread like wildfire

spread like wildfire verb: to spread or disseminate rapidly or uncontrollably.

Verb

spread like wildfire (third-person singular simple present spreads like wildfire, present participle spreading like wildfire, simple past and past participle spread like wildfire)

  1. (intransitive, simile) To spread or disseminate rapidly or uncontrollably.
    • The virus spread like wildfire throughout the Internet.
    • The propaganda of the rebels spread like wild-fire, and the hopes of the more daring Irish Catholics rose high.1789, The Gentleman's Magazine, page 651

Examples of spread like wildfire in a sentence

  • "We can sense the tension in Perth," wrote the Scotsman, "when the news spread like wildfire that a runaway engine of ancient vintage was heading north without a soul on the footplate.1941 October, “Notes and News: A Highland Runaway”, in Railway Magazine, page 469:
  • The plant has spread like wildfire since.2024 November 13, Paul Bigland, “Much to admire... but pockets of neglect”, in RAIL, number 1022, page 49:

Forms of spread like wildfire

third-person singular presentspreads like wildfire
present participlespreading like wildfire
past participlespread like wildfire
pastspread like wildfire

Questions about spread like wildfire

What does spread like wildfire mean?
Spread like wildfire means to spread or disseminate rapidly or uncontrollably.
How do you use spread like wildfire in a sentence?
"We can sense the tension in Perth," wrote the Scotsman, "when the news spread like wildfire that a runaway engine of ancient vintage was heading north without a soul on the footplate.
What part of speech is spread like wildfire?
Spread like wildfire is a verb.
What is the past tense of spread like wildfire?
The past tense of spread like wildfire is spread like wildfire.

Words near spread like wildfire in the dictionary

  1. spread bets
  2. spread betting
  3. spread eagle
  4. spread eagles
  5. spread it on thick
  6. spread like wildfire
  7. spread limit
  8. spread limits
  9. spread one's legs
  10. spread one's net wide
  11. spread one's wings

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: spread like wildfire (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-spread like wildfire.ogg.

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