word choice - Fire (at, on, in, to) target


How to correctly choose the preposition in "fire (at, on, in, to) target"?



Answer




  • on - shoot with purpose to hit and destroy/kill the target.

  • at - shoot in direction of target, attempting to hit but possibly missing it, or not doing any significant damage. ("cover fire")

  • in - shoot through the target which is hollow/open. "fire a rocket in the bunker through that hatch".

  • to - describing maximum range, not actual target. "our mortars can fire to that hill range"


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