Idiom
Fight fire with fire
To fight fire with fire means to respond to an attack or problem by using the same methods or tactics as your opponent.
How people use it
People use it when they decide to match an opponent's approach: a store cutting prices to match a rival, or a team answering an aggressive style with its own. It can be approving, suggesting sensible tough action, or doubtful, since copying bad behavior can make things worse. People often debate it: "You can't fight fire with fire." The tone is neutral, and the phrase is common in business, sports and opinion writing.
Examples
- When the rival bakery started offering free coffee, Ana decided to fight fire with fire and gave away cookies.
- The coach said the best answer to their fast offense was to fight fire with fire and run just as hard.
- Fighting fire with fire in an online argument usually just makes everyone angrier.
Where it comes from
It probably comes from a real firefighting method. To stop a wildfire or prairie fire, people deliberately burned a strip of land in its path, so the main fire ran out of fuel. Similar ideas appear in older writing, including a line in Shakespeare's King John about being fire with fire, but the exact phrase became common in the 1800s, especially in America.
Check yourself
1. What does fight fire with fire mean?
Answer: Respond using the same methods as your opponent. Fight fire with fire means matching an opponent's tactics.
2. Which situation is an example of fighting fire with fire?
Answer: A shop lowers prices after a rival lowers theirs. Matching a rival's price cut uses the same tactic against them.
Similar idioms
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