the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy; "hold your fire until you can see the whites of their eyes"; "they retreated in the face of withering enemy fire"

antiaircraft fire - firing at enemy aircraft
barrage / barrage fire / battery / bombardment / shelling - the heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area rather than hit a specific target
broadside - the simultaneous firing of all the armament on one side of a warship
fusillade / salvo / volley / burst - rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms
call fire - fire delivered on a specific target in response to a request from the supported unit
cover / covering fire - fire that makes it difficult for the enemy to fire on your own individuals or formations
concentrated fire / massed fire - fire from two or more weapons directed at a single target or area (as fire by batteries of two or more warships)
counterfire - fire intended to neutralize or destroy enemy weapons
counterpreparation fire - intensive prearranged fire delivered when the immanence of enemy attack is discovered
crossfire - fire from two or more points so that the lines of fire cross
destruction fire - fire delivered for the sole purpose of destroying material objects
direct fire - fire delivered on a target that is visible to the person aiming it
distributed fire - fire dispersed so as to engage effectively an area target
friendly fire / fratricide - fire that injures or kills an ally
hostile fire - fire that injures or kills an enemy
grazing fire - fire approximately parallel to the ground
harassing fire - fire designed to disturb the rest of enemy troops and to curtail movement and to lower enemy morale
indirect fire - fire delivered on a target that is not itself used as the point of aim for the weapons
interdiction fire - fire directed to an area to prevent the enemy from using that area
neutralization fire - fire that is delivered in order to render the target ineffective or unusable
observed fire - fire for which the point of impact (the burst) can be seen by an observer
preparation fire - fire delivered on a target in preparation for an assault
radar fire - gunfire aimed a target that is being tracked by radar
registration fire - fire delivered to obtain accurate data for subsequent effective engagement of targets
scheduled fire - prearranged fire delivered at a predetermined time
searching fire - fire distributed in depth by successive changes in the elevation of the gun
supporting fire - fire delivered by supporting units to protect or assist a unit in combat
suppressive fire - fire on or about a weapon system to degrade its performance below what is needed to fulfill its mission objectives
unobserved fire - fire for which the point of impact (the bursts) cannot be observed
artillery fire / cannon fire - fire delivered by artillery

    attack     onslaught     onset     onrush

a fireplace in which a fire is burning; "they sat by the fire and talked"

cookfire - a fire for cooking

    fireplace     hearth     open fireplace

intense adverse criticism; "Clinton directed his fire at the Republican Party"; "the government has come under attack"; "don''t give me any flak"

    criticism     unfavorable judgment

the event of something burning (often destructive); "they lost everything in the fire"

bonfire / balefire - a large outdoor fire
brush fire - an uncontrolled fire that consumes brush and shrubs and bushes
campfire - a small outdoor fire for warmth or cooking (as at a camp)
conflagration / inferno - a very intense and uncontrolled fire
forest fire - an uncontrolled fire in a wooded area
grassfire - an uncontrolled fire in a grassy area
smoulder - a smouldering fire
smudge - a smoky fire to drive away insects

    happening     occurrence     natural event

a severe trial; "he went through fire and damnation"

    trial     tribulation     visitation

feelings of great warmth and intensity; "he spoke with great ardor"

zeal - excessive fervor to do something or accomplish some end

    passion     passionateness

the process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke; "fire was one of our ancestors'' first discoveries"

blaze / blazing - a strong flame that burns brightly
flare - a sudden burst of flame

    combustion     burning

once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles)

    element

bake in a kiln so as to harden; "fire pottery"

    bake

destroy by fire; "They burned the house and his diaries"

backfire - set a controlled fire to halt an advancing forest to prairie fire
cremate - reduce to ashes
torch - burn maliciously, as by arson
scorch - destroy completely by or as if by fire

    destroy     ruin

    burn     combust     burn     incinerate

cause to go off; "fire a gun"; "fire a bullet"

pop - fire a weapon with a loud explosive noise
loose off / let fly / let drive - fire as from a gun
shoot - fire a shot
fusillade - attack with fusillade

go off or discharge; "The gun fired"

start firing a weapon

    shoot

call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses); "arouse pity"; "raise a smile"; "evoke sympathy"

strike a chord / touch a chord - evoke a reaction, response, or emotion
invite / ask for - increase the likelihood of
draw - elicit responses, such as objections, criticism, applause, etc.
rekindle - arouse again
infatuate - arouse unreasoning love or passion in and cause to behave in an irrational way
prick - to cause a sharp emotional pain
inflame / stir up / wake / ignite / heat / fire up - arouse or excite feelings and passions
stimulate / shake / shake up / excite / stir - stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of
excite - arouse or elicit a feeling
anger - make angry
upset / discompose / untune / disconcert / discomfit - cause to lose one''s composure
shame - cause to be ashamed
hurt / wound / injure / bruise / offend / spite - hurt the feelings of
overwhelm / overpower / sweep over / whelm / overcome / overtake - overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
interest - excite the curiosity of

    make     create

drive out or away by or as if by fire; "The soldiers were fired"; "Surrender fires the cold skepticism"

    chase away     drive out     turn back     drive away     dispel     drive off     run off

provide with fuel; "Oil fires the furnace"

    supply     provide     render     furnish

terminate the employment of; "The boss fired his secretary today"; "The company terminated 25% of its workers"

retire - make (someone) retire
pension off - let go from employment with an attractive pension
clean out - force out
furlough / lay off - dismiss, usually for economic reasons
squeeze out - force out
dismiss / send packing / send away / drop - stop associating with

    remove

    hire     engage     employ