fireman

American  

[fahyuhr-muhn] / ˈfaɪər mən /

noun

PLURAL

firemen

1. a person employed to extinguish or prevent fires; firefighter.

2. a person employed to tend fires; stoker.

3. Railroads.

   1. a person employed to fire and lubricate a steam locomotive.

   2. a person employed to assist the engineer of a diesel or electric locomotive.

4. U.S. Navy.  an enlisted person assigned to the care and operation of a ship's machinery.

5. British Mining.  fire boss.

6. Baseball.  relief pitcher.

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fireman British  

/ ˈfaɪəmən /

noun

1. Gender-neutral form: firefighter.  a man who fights fires, usually a public employee or trained volunteer

2. 1. (on steam locomotives) the man who stokes the fire and controls the injectors feeding water to the boiler

   2. (on diesel and electric locomotives) the driver's assistant

3. a man who tends furnaces; stoker

4. US equivalent: fire boss.  Also called: deputy.  a mine official responsible for safety precautions

5. navy a junior rating who works on marine engineering equipment

6. informal  any employee who is dispatched to deal with trouble at short notice

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Gender

See -man.

Etymology

Origin of fireman

1620–30 for sense “gunner”; fire + -man

Example Sentences

"I am profoundly grieved at the loss of this dedicated and gallant fireman," Andy Yeung, director of the fire service said in a statement.

From BBC

“Those corridors fill up with smoke, so now you’re having to do a fireman crawl along the floor for potentially hundreds of feet,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Replete with Constructivist angles, it’s an unsentimental account of a woman who tells her fireman husband he isn’t the father of their newborn.

From The Wall Street Journal

“They call me the fireman,” he said with a laugh.

From The Wall Street Journal

Once again, he is both arsonist and fireman.

From Salon

Related Words

• firefighter