English · Idiom Attested

spread like wildfire

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To spread or disseminate rapidly or uncontrollably.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Lan truyền nhanh chóng hoặc mất kiểm soát

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

The virus spread like wildfire throughout the Internet.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org). Figurative class: Simile (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).

Common questions

What does “spread like wildfire” mean?

To spread or disseminate rapidly or uncontrollably.

Is “spread like wildfire” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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