"get on like a house on fire" meaning in English

See get on like a house on fire in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-get on like a house on fire.ogg Forms: gets on like a house on fire [present, singular, third-person], getting on like a house on fire [participle, present], got on like a house on fire [past], got on like a house on fire [UK, participle, past], gotten on like a house on fire [US, participle, past]
Etymology: By metaphor, reflecting the notion that housefires are archetypally roaringly quick and robust. Head templates: {{en-verb|get<,,got,got􂀿UK􂁀:gotten􂀿US􂁀> on like a house on fire|head=get on like a house on fire}} get on like a house on fire (third-person singular simple present gets on like a house on fire, present participle getting on like a house on fire, simple past got on like a house on fire, past participle (UK) got on like a house on fire or (US) gotten on like a house on fire)
  1. (simile) To immediately start a good relationship with someone. Related terms: like a house afire, get along like nobody's business, hit it off
    Sense id: en-get_on_like_a_house_on_fire-en-verb-aKGH3PaX Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English similes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_text": "By metaphor, reflecting the notion that housefires are archetypally roaringly quick and robust.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "gets on like a house on fire",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "getting on like a house on fire",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "got on like a house on fire",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "got on like a house on fire",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gotten on like a house on fire",
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "get<,,got,got􂀿UK􂁀:gotten􂀿US􂁀> on like a house on fire",
        "head": "get on like a house on fire"
      },
      "expansion": "get on like a house on fire (third-person singular simple present gets on like a house on fire, present participle getting on like a house on fire, simple past got on like a house on fire, past participle (UK) got on like a house on fire or (US) gotten on like a house on fire)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English similes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Those two met last Saturday at the party, and because they were both into juggling they got on like a house on fire.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 November 16, Paul Bigland, “From rural branches to high-speed arteries”, in RAIL, number 970, page 52:",
          "text": "They've obviously never met before, but are getting on like a house on fire. Both are well-spoken and versed in the Queen's English.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To immediately start a good relationship with someone."
      ],
      "id": "en-get_on_like_a_house_on_fire-en-verb-aKGH3PaX",
      "links": [
        [
          "immediately",
          "immediately"
        ],
        [
          "start",
          "start"
        ],
        [
          "good",
          "good"
        ],
        [
          "relationship",
          "relationship"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "simile",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(simile) To immediately start a good relationship with someone."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "like a house afire"
        },
        {
          "word": "get along like nobody's business"
        },
        {
          "word": "hit it off"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-get on like a house on fire.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/48/En-au-get_on_like_a_house_on_fire.ogg/En-au-get_on_like_a_house_on_fire.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/En-au-get_on_like_a_house_on_fire.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "get on like a house on fire"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "By metaphor, reflecting the notion that housefires are archetypally roaringly quick and robust.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "gets on like a house on fire",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "getting on like a house on fire",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "got on like a house on fire",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "got on like a house on fire",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gotten on like a house on fire",
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "get<,,got,got􂀿UK􂁀:gotten􂀿US􂁀> on like a house on fire",
        "head": "get on like a house on fire"
      },
      "expansion": "get on like a house on fire (third-person singular simple present gets on like a house on fire, present participle getting on like a house on fire, simple past got on like a house on fire, past participle (UK) got on like a house on fire or (US) gotten on like a house on fire)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "like a house afire"
    },
    {
      "word": "get along like nobody's business"
    },
    {
      "word": "hit it off"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English similes",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English verbs",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Those two met last Saturday at the party, and because they were both into juggling they got on like a house on fire.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 November 16, Paul Bigland, “From rural branches to high-speed arteries”, in RAIL, number 970, page 52:",
          "text": "They've obviously never met before, but are getting on like a house on fire. Both are well-spoken and versed in the Queen's English.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To immediately start a good relationship with someone."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "immediately",
          "immediately"
        ],
        [
          "start",
          "start"
        ],
        [
          "good",
          "good"
        ],
        [
          "relationship",
          "relationship"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "simile",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(simile) To immediately start a good relationship with someone."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-get on like a house on fire.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/48/En-au-get_on_like_a_house_on_fire.ogg/En-au-get_on_like_a_house_on_fire.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/En-au-get_on_like_a_house_on_fire.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "get on like a house on fire"
}

Download raw JSONL data for get on like a house on fire meaning in English (2.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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