fire drill
Americannoun
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a practice drill for a company of firefighters, the crew of a ship, etc., to train them in their duties in case of fire.
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a drill for pupils in a school, employees in a factory, etc., to train them in the manner of exit to be followed in case of fire.
noun
Etymology
Origin of fire drill
First recorded in 1890–95
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The fire drill for us lawyers began in earnest that day.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025
At least that was the case on a recent morning when he popped into a Zoom interview from his phone in the midst of an unexpected company fire drill.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2024
State deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak said a safety review of the public hospital had been carried out in February, and a fire drill as recently as June.
From BBC • Nov. 16, 2024
It was a chance meeting on a bench outside their building during a fire drill that led Harvey and Lee to realize the complementary nature of their work.
From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2024
No surprise fire drill alarm would sound in time to rescue me from having to look at, let alone talk to, Ellis and the K. Rukia wasn’t so bad, just annoying.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
