fireman

American  

[fahyuhr-muhn] / ˈfaɪər mən /

noun

• firemen
  plural

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• firemen
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fireman

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fireman firemen

"So it is!" chimed in an off-duty fireman nearby.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

As a teenager, Woods left Columbus for Missouri in 1872 to take a job as a railroad fireman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

"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 ● Nov. 26, 2025

Once again, he is both arsonist and fireman.

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2025

An hour of monologue, a poem, a comment, and then without even acknowledging the fact that Montag was a fireman, Faber with a certain trembling, wrote his address on a slip of paper.

From "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

And if that doesn’t ensure the populace is in thrall to the authoritarian narrative, the firemen of the novel burn books, ensuring ideas can’t get into the hands of the people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Nearly 800 firemen have been deployed to the major fire in Valpacos which has left at least five people lightly injured.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

In the Nashville airport, he found himself alongside a group of firemen heading to Oklahoma to help with the rescue.

From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026

"Most of the firemen know the area so well and they know how to manage it."

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2025

And then the cops and firemen are coming in the kitchen and saying things I can’t understand and spreading out and kneeling by Diego.

From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña

Related Words

• firefighter