fire alarm
Americannoun
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fire alarms
plural
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a signal that warns that a fire has started.
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a bell, buzzer, siren, horn, etc., that provides such a signal.
noun
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a device to give warning of fire, esp a bell, siren, or hooter
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a shout to warn that a fire has broken out
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fire alarm
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50
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 couple, from London, told the BBC that they were in their room on the sixth floor when they heard a fire alarm.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Araceli Berzanes, a worker at the facility, said in an interview that she and her co-worker were assembling sandwiches in the facility’s cold storage room when the fire alarm went off.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
While stressing that officials needed to make a comprehensive assessment, he said he saw "no emergency exit signage, emergency lighting systems or fire alarm devices".
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
The intervention, echoed by White House officials, was the equivalent of a fire alarm across Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
I’d already let my guard down when I futzed with her phone and then again when I hacked in front of her, tracing that text during the fire alarm back to Chrissie.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
