# fight fires

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/fight-fires
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To deal with urgent matters and minor emergencies rather than longer-term work.

## Examples

- I spend all day fighting fires at the office.
- The manager could not finish the project because she spent the entire week fighting fires instead.
- Instead of focusing on long-term strategy, the team spent their limited resources fighting fires caused by the sudden collapse of the supply chain.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.