spread like wildfire
Disseminate with speed
To spread like wildfire is to disseminate rapidly and uncontrollably, as fire spreads through dry vegetation.
The phrase typically describes news, rumors, ideas, or trends that gain sudden, explosive momentum: The video spread like wildfire on social media.
Rumors about the merger spread like wildfire through the office.
- overrunSpread throughout uncontrollably
- overtakePass while moving faster
- expandIncrease in size
- growIncrease in size
- overspreadCover an entire surface
contagion · go viral · viral · epidemic · craze · trending · social media · sensation · buzz · hot take · disseminate · meme · proliferate · distribute · propagate · word of mouth · rumor mill · fad
- fire idiomsplay with fire, fight fire with fire, fan the flames, add fuel to fire, on fire
direction of change
spread like wildfiredie out
Cease to exist entirely
vanish · disappear · fizzle out · peter out · shrink
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