fight fire with fire
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Use tactics of the opponent to respond.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
‘ I have spoken to most captains and a lot of players and the general feeling is that we have played against sides in the past with Test players and we wanted to be able to fight fire with fire so to speak.
New York's Guerrilla Girls (and their slightly embarrassing English imitators Sweet Fanny Adams) try to fight fire with fire and porn with porn.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Equivalents & related
Near equivalent
dĩ độc trị độc
"The best way to deal with an opponent is to fight back with similair weapons or tactics.".
Tiếng Việt
Near equivalent
lấy độc trị độc
to fight fire with fire
Tiếng Việt
Near equivalent
bụt nhà không thiêng
familiarity breeds contempt
Tiếng Việt
Near equivalent
fine words butter no parsnips
Nice talk doesn't get things done
English · via lấy độc trị độc
Near equivalent
familiarity breeds contempt
Excessive closeness or overexposure can lead to disrespect
English · via bụt nhà không thiêng
Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.
Common questions
What does “fight fire with fire” mean?
Use tactics of the opponent to respond.
Is “fight fire with fire” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“dĩ độc trị độc” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.