engulf

engulf in (something)

To overwhelm and consume someone or something. The house was totally engulfed in flames by the time firefighters got there.
See also: engulf
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

engulf someone or something in something

[for the fog, a flood, or waves] to swallow up someone or something. The fog engulfed the small town in heavy mist. The waves engulfed the small boat in thousands of gallons of water.
See also: engulf
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • engulf in
  • engulf in (something)
  • encumber
  • encumber (someone or something) with (something)
  • encumber with
  • flood (someone or something) with (something)
  • flood with
  • get the best of (someone or something)
  • get/have the best of something
  • the meat and potatoes
References in periodicals archive
Several videos of the explosions occurring also began appearing on Twitter, offering people a look at the chaos that engulfed the area on Friday morning.
Philadelphia Refinery Suffers Series Of Explosions
Countries with neocolonial ambitions, like China, are also resorting to similar engulf and devour strategies.
Engulf and devour
The historic clock at the top of the building was engulfed in flames before the fire spread from the roof to the floor below.
Blaze destroys historic building
Videos circulating on social media showed a car engulfed in flames and thick plumes of black smoke.
2 wanted terrorists killed in Qatif car bomb blast
The blaze which engulfed a shopping mall under construction left material damage, but no human losses.
Civil Defence put out blaze in Kuwait
A woman takes photo of Tamweel residential tower as flames engulf a portion of the building at Jumeirah Lakes Towers
PHOTOS: Fire breaks out at JLT's Tamweel tower
Engulf looked to have things under control as he cruised upsides Alkhataaf approaching the final furlong, and with rider Kieren Fallon resorting to no more than hands and heels, punters piled into the runner-up, seeing him hit a low of 1.1 in running.
Oppose Engulf next time; BETTING REPORT
KABUL (PAN): A cloth market in posh Khair-Khana locality here gutted as fire broke out due to a gas cylinder and engulfed the three-storey building.
Kabul cloth market gutted
Welder Andy Herd was engulfed in flames as the explosion - heard three miles away - caused serious damage to dozens of houses and scattered debris over hundreds of yards.
BLAST KILLS DRIVER
Hunter's book paints a picture of a continent about to be engulfed in social, economic, and political chaos, all because of 1 small retrovirus.
AIDS in Asia: A Continent in Peril
At least two species of honeybees there, the native Apis cerana and the introduced European honeybee, Apis mellifera, engulf a wasp in a living ball of defenders and heat the predator to death.
Balls of fire: bees carefully cook invaders to death
The wealthier member states of the European Union are already bracing themselves for the "welfare migration" that is certain to engulf them once the continent's constitution is ratified.
An FTAA sneak preview: alarming trends among our Southwestern states--and in some metropolitan areas--offer a microcosm of what America would look like without borders
Summary: Wildfires raged Tuesday on the outskirts of two northern villages, with the flames approaching residential houses and threatening to engulf a number of poultry farms in the area.
Wildfires rage in Akkar, threaten to spread
Macrophages are immune cells that, among other roles, engulf bacteria and other microscopic particles.
Ozone saps toads' immune systems