catch fire

• catch on fire (sometimes proscribed)
• go on fire (informal, dialectal)

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catch fire (third-person singular simple present catches fire, present participle catching fire, simple past and past participle caught fire)

1. (idiomatic) To become engulfed in flames, to combust.

   Synonyms: go up in flames, go up in smoke

2. (figurative) To become very popular or widespread; to take off.
   • 2002, Latifa Al-Zayyat; Marilyn Booth, The Open Door, page 9:

     The news caught fire through the school, and Layla found herself — a mere first-year student at the secondary school — the center of attention and admiration.

3. (figurative) To be inspired by passion or zeal.