What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Fire vs Launch - What's the difference?

fire | launch |

Launch is a synonym of fire.



In transitive terms the difference between fire and launch

is that fire is to forcibly direct (something) while launch is to send out; to start (one) on a career; to set going; to give a start to (something); to put in operation.

fire

English

Noun

  • (uncountable) A (usually self-sustaining) chemical reaction involving the bonding of oxygen with carbon or other fuel, with the production of heat and the presence of flame or smouldering.
  • (countable) Something that has produced or is capable of producing this chemical reaction, such as a campfire.
  • * , chapter=8
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=We toted in the wood and got the fire going nice and comfortable. Lord James still set in one of the chairs and Applegate had cabbaged the other and was hugging the stove.}}
  • (countable) The often accidental occurrence of fire in a certain place.
  • (uncountable, alchemy) One of the four basic elements.
  • ).
  • (countable, British) A heater or stove used in place of a real fire (such as an electric fire).
  • (countable) The elements necessary to start a fire.
  • (uncountable) The bullets or other projectiles fired from a gun.
  • Strength of passion, whether love or hate.
  • * Atterbury
  • He had fire in his temper.
  • Liveliness of imagination or fancy; intellectual and moral enthusiasm.
  • * (Alexander Pope)
  • And bless their critic with a poet's fire .
  • Splendour; brilliancy; lustre; hence, a star.
  • * (William Shakespeare)
  • Stars, hide your fires .
  • * (John Milton)
  • As in a zodiac representing the heavenly fires .
  • (countable) A button (on a joypad, joystick or similar device) usually used to make a video game character fire a weapon.
  • Derived terms

    * all-fire * add fuel to the fire * back fire * balefire * ball of fire * baptism of fire * bonfire * brush-fire * brush fire * bushfire * campfire * catch fire * ceasefire * covering fire * electric fire * fiery * fight fire with fire * fire alarm * fire and brimstone * fire away * firearm * fireball * fire bay * fire beater * fireblast * firebolt * firebomb * firebrand * firebreak * fire brigade * firebug * fireclay * fire company * firecracker * fire department * firedog * fire drill * fire eater * fire engine * fire escape * fire exit * fire extinguisher * fire-fight * firefight * firefighter * fire flapper * firefly * fireguard * fire hose * firehouse * fire hydrant * fire in the belly * firelighter * fireman * fireplace * fireplug * fireproof * fire resistant * fire retardant * fireshine * fire ship * fire station * fireside * fire sign * fire-starter * fire step * firestop * fire swab * fire swatter * fire teaser * fire trench * fire truck * fire up * firewire * firewoman * firewood * firework * forest fire * friendly fire * gas fire * grassfire * grass fire * Greek fire * hang fire * heap coals on fire * hold your fire * hold someone's feet to the fire * irons in the fire * light someone's fire * no smoke without fire * on fire * open fire * ordeal of fire * play with fire * Promethean fire * pull out of the fire * rapid fire * real fire * St Anthony's fire * St Elmo's fire * trial by fire

    Verb

    (fir)
  • (lb) To set (something) on fire.
  • * Chapter 20:
  • *:"Then I slipped up again with a box of matches, fired' my heap of paper and rubbish, put the chairs and bedding thereby, led the gas to the affair, by means of an india-rubber tube, and waving a farewell to the room left it for the last time." ¶ "You '''fired''' the house!" exclaimed Kemp. ¶ "' Fired the house. It was the only way to cover my trail—and no doubt it was insured."
  • *1907 , (Jack London), (The Iron Heel)
  • *:It was long a question of debate, whether the burning of the South Side ghetto was accidental, or whether it was done by the Mercenaries; but it is definitely settled now that the ghetto was fired by the Mercenaries under orders from their chiefs.
  • (lb) To heat without setting on fire, as ceramic, metal objects, etc.
  • :
  • :
  • *
  • *:So this was my future home, I thought! Certainly it made a brave picture. I had seen similar ones fired -in on many a Heidelberg stein. Backed by towering hills,a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
  • (lb) To drive away by setting a fire.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:Till my bad angel fire my good one out.
  • (lb) To terminate the employment contract of (an employee), especially for cause (such as misconduct or poor performance).
  • *1969 , (Vladimir Nabokov), , Penguin 2011, p.226:
  • *:The first, obvious choice was hysterical and fantastic Blanche – had there not been her timidity, her fear of being ‘fired ’.
  • (lb) To shoot (a device that launches a projectile or a pulse of stream of something).
  • :
  • :
  • (lb) To shoot a gun, a cannon or a similar weapon.
  • :
  • :
  • To shoot; to attempt to score a goal.
  • *{{quote-news, year=2010, date=December 29, author=Mark Vesty, work=BBC
  • , title= Wigan 2-2 Arsenal , passage=Andrey Arshavin equalised with a superb volley into the corner before Nicklas Bendtner coolly fired Arsenal in front.}}
  • To cause an action potential in a cell.
  • :
  • (lb) To forcibly direct (something).
  • :
  • To initiate an event (by means of an event handler).
  • :
  • To inflame; to irritate, as the passions.
  • :
  • *(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • *:Love had fired my mind.
  • To animate; to give life or spirit to.
  • :
  • To feed or serve the fire of.
  • :
  • To light up as if by fire; to illuminate.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:[The sun] fires the proud tops of the eastern pines.
  • (lb) To cauterize.
  • To catch fire; to be kindled.
  • To be irritated or inflamed with passion.
  • Synonyms

    * (set on fire) See set on fire * (sense) let off, loose (archery), shoot, * (terminate the employment of) dismiss, be given one's cards, be given the boot]], be given the elbow, [[heave-ho, be given the old heave-ho, let go, make redundant, sack, throw out * (sense) open fire, shoot * See also

    Antonyms

    * (to terminate the employment) hire

    Derived terms

    * fire away * fire off * fire up * firing * overfired * ! * underfired * unfirable * you're fired

    Statistics

    *

    launch

    English

    Alternative forms

    * lanch (obsolete)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) /Norman variant, compare Jèrriais lanchi ) of lancier, French lancer, from lance.

    Verb

    (es)
  • To throw, as a lance or dart; to hurl; to let fly; to send off, propel with force.
  • * 2011 , Stephen Budiansky, Perilous Fight: America's Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815 , page 323
  • There they were met by four thousand Ha'apa'a warriors, who launched a volley of stones and spears
  • (obsolete) To pierce with, or as with, a lance.
  • * 1591 , (Edmund Spenser), The Teares of the Muses
  • And launch your hearts with lamentable wounds.
  • To cause to move or slide from the land into the water; to set afloat.
  • *
  • Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
  • * 1725–1726 , (Alexander Pope), Homer's Odyssey (translation), Book V
  • With stays and cordage last he rigged the ship, / And rolled on levers, launched her in the deep.
  • To send out; to start (one) on a career; to set going; to give a start to (something); to put in operation.
  • * 1649 , (Eikon Basilike)
  • All art is u?ed to ?ink Epi?copacy, & lanch Presbytery in England .
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2 , passage=Here was my chance. I took the old man aside, and two or three glasses of Old Crow launched him into reminiscence.}}
  • * , chapter=13
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=“[…] They talk of you as if you were Croesus—and I expect the beggars sponge on you unconscionably.” And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-09-07, volume=408, issue=8852, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Kill or cure , passage=On September 3rd Bionym, a Canadian firm, launched Nymi, a bracelet which detects the wearer’s heartbeat.}}
  • (often with out) To move with force and swiftness like a sliding from the stocks into the water; to plunge; to make a beginning.
  • * 1718 , (Matthew Prior), Solomon: On the Vanity of the World , Preface
  • In our language, Spen?er has not contented him?elf with this ?ubmi??ive manner of imitation : he launches out into very flowery paths
  • * 1969 , (Maya Angelou), I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , ch. 23:
  • My class was wearing butter-yellow pique dresses, and Momma launched out on mine. She smocked the yoke into tiny crisscrossing puckers, then shirred the rest of the bodice.
    Synonyms
    * (to pierce) lance, pierce

    Noun

    (es)
  • The act of launching.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The attack of the MOOCs , passage=Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations.}}
  • The movement of a vessel from land into the water; especially, the sliding on ways from the stocks on which it is built. (Compare: to splash a ship.)
  • Derived terms
    * launching (as a noun) * launching ways

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl)

    Noun

    (es)
  • (nautical) The boat of the largest size and/or of most importance belonging to a ship of war, and often called the "captain's boat" or "captain's launch".
  • (nautical) A boat used to convey guests to and from a yaucht.
  • (nautical) An open boat of any size powered by steam, naphtha, electricity, or the like. (Compare Spanish lancha .)
  • Derived terms
    *

    See also

    * barge * boat * * yacht

    Anagrams

    *