set fire

From Middle English setten fyre, equivalent to set +‎ fire.

set fire (third-person singular simple present sets fire, present participle setting fire, simple past and past participle set fire)

1. (intransitive) Followed by to: to cause to be on fire; to light using fire; to set alight.

   Synonyms: set on fire, torch

   They set fire to the house.

   • 1941 October, “Notes and News: A Serious Swiss Derailment”, in Railway Magazine, page 469:

     A freight train became completely derailed, blocking the tunnel entrance, and six of the wagons rolled down the mountainside, demolishing and setting fire on their way to a guard house, in which three soldiers were killed.

• Eiferts, Siefert, fireset, ifreets