baptism of fire

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 11, 2026 is: baptism of fire • BAP-tiz-um-uv-FYRE  • noun A baptism of fire (or baptism by fire, as it is sometimes referred to in the U.S.) is an introductory or initial experience that is a severe ordeal. In military contexts, baptism of fire specifically refers to a soldier's first exposure to enemy fire. // The newly recruited player faced a baptism of fire as the team went head to head with their greatest rival. See the entry > Examples: "It was my first day on the slopes, and in my naivety I had tackled Avoriaz’s famous Boulevard des Skieurs after one three-hour lesson, before I could even really turn. At 36, this was a baptism of fire." — Jaymi McCann, The Week, 23 Jan. 2026 Did you know? The military sense of baptism of fire can be found in, among other texts, a 1907 history of a Massachusetts regiment in the Civil War: "That night we camped sixteen miles from Baton Rouge where we remained until the 21st, on which day we received our baptism of fire." Users of that sense, referring to a soldier's first exposure to enemy fire, as well those employing the more general sense of an especially difficult initiation, both allude (knowingly or unknowingly) to a Biblical passage: "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me . . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matthew 3:11, RSV). The use of baptism of fire to refer to such a spiritual baptism dates to at least the early 1600s. Non-biblical, metaphorical use for any introductory or initial experience that is a severe ordeal arose in the mid-1850s.