# keep the home fires burning

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/keep-the-home-fires-burning
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To maintain daily routine and provide the necessities of life in a home or community.

## Examples

- I will keep the home fires burning while you travel for work.
- With her husband deployed overseas, she stayed behind to keep the home fires burning for their three young children.
- While the rest of the community sought fortune in the distant gold fields, he remained in the village to keep the home fires burning for those who could not leave.

## Origin

A reference to keeping campfires, lights, etc. at one's home village burning, often while part of the population travels elsewhere to hunt, etc.

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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.