How to Use spread like wildfire in a Sentence

spread like wildfire

idiom
Definition of spread like wildfirenext
  • The claim wasn’t true, but the fake post spread like wildfire on the internet.
    — Trey Yingst, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Dec. 2023
  • When people saw a man being raised from the dead, the news spread like wildfire.
    — Lauren Green, Fox News, 4 Apr. 2023
  • Discontent spread like wildfire to the countries of the East bloc.
    — ABC News, 30 Aug. 2022
  • In the face of a brutal crackdown by the regime, protests spread like wildfire in the following weeks.
    — Adam Pourahmadi, CNN, 16 Sep. 2023
  • The tweet was met with a number of responses, and the debate spread like wildfire.
    — Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 23 Jan. 2023
  • In the age of social media, TV show fandoms can spread like wildfire.
    — Robert English, EW.com, 18 Apr. 2023
  • The one-minute clip of Barr’s remarks spread like wildfire on social media.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2023
  • The tracks spread like wildfire across the internet to the dismay (or satisfaction) of many a fan.
    — Vulture, 28 July 2022
  • Once the virus arrived, though, conditions enabled it to spread like wildfire.
    — Washington Post, 30 Oct. 2020
  • Over the past year, the two have gotten a kick out of the misinformation about their nuptials that has spread like wildfire across the internet.
    — Alexandra MacOn, Vogue, 4 Aug. 2023
  • News of the arrests spread like wildfire across Iran fueling outrage.
    — Leily Nikounazar, New York Times, 16 Dec. 2023
  • The coronavirus has spread like wildfire across the U.S., most recently in southern and western states.
    — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2020
  • The bacterium that causes anthrax — which had been present on the peninsula for over a century — emerged from the soil and spread like wildfire.
    — Jim Geraghty, National Review, 27 Mar. 2022
  • As nefarious rumors spread like wildfire on the Ridge, tragedy strikes.
    — Emma Dibdin, Town & Country, 17 Apr. 2022
  • What started with a dance became a meme that spread like wildfire across the web with even Jessica Alba taking part.
    — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 17 June 2024
  • Focusing on the art of filmmaking yielded an end result that intrigued fans so much that the clip spread like wildfire.
    — Rivea Ruff, Essence, 18 Feb. 2022
  • The jihadi insurgencies that have spread like wildfire across Africa in recent years might seem like the exception to the rule.
    — Jason K. Stearns, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022
  • The legal proceeding quickly spread like wildfire online in the days that followed.
    — Louis Casiano, Fox News, 5 June 2024
  • When another hot, dry summer hit in 2002, the disease spread like wildfire across the United States and into Canada.
    — Linda Marsa, Discover Magazine, 4 Feb. 2011
  • Heated debates on school safety have spread like wildfire.
    — Marcela Rodrigues, Dallas News, 24 May 2023
  • Once people started getting cheeky with their inscriptions, the trend of ironic totes spread like wildfire.
    — Meg Donohue, ELLE, 6 Jan. 2023
  • The conspiracy spread like wildfire, with hashtags about Prater racking up tens of millions of views on TikTok.
    — NBC News, 3 Dec. 2021
  • The theory quickly picked up steam and spread like wildfire on social media and through headlines, but a closer look at the video shows that was not actually the case.
    — Julie Mazziotta, Peoplemag, 4 Aug. 2024
  • The upswing is tied to a new, even more contagious version of the omicron variant that spread like wildfire across the United States in December and January.
    — Meredith Cohn, baltimoresun.com, 17 Mar. 2022
  • What is indisputable is that the virus can spread like wildfire in settings where children are unmasked and unvaccinated, such as schools and homes.
    — Ariana Eunjung Cha, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Aug. 2021
  • The reason, of course, is a global pandemic that continues to spread like wildfire throughout the United States, with cases in Texas rising.
    — Michael Granberry, Dallas News, 7 July 2020
  • Stefanski didn’t have much to say about the Baker Mayfield quote that spread like wildfire on social media on Tuesday.
    — Ashley Bastock, cleveland, 30 Aug. 2022
  • Back in December 2005, YouTube barely possessed name recognition, let alone a business model, when the short spread like wildfire on the service.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2024
  • The campaign spread like wildfire throughout social media.
    — Mauro F. Guillén, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2023
  • But word spread like wildfire after the infielder cranked home runs over the fence and onto the football field beyond it with regularity, with no part of the field spared from his power.
    — Andy Kostka, Baltimore Sun, 29 Sep. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spread like wildfire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: