fire alarm
Americannoun
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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.
His alarm clock, a big and bulky machine that’s Bluetooth-connected to the house’s fire alarm, rattles his room until he finally shuts it off.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
“You want to get somebody’s attention really quick? Make the fire alarm go off in your spacecraft when you’re still about 80,000 miles from home,” Wiseman said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Sound-designed by David Gertsman, “undertone” is so quiet that a tea kettle sounds like a fire alarm.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026
Some years ago, a fire alarm went off in his own home – in a room where his tumble dryer was operating.
From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026
I let him win twice and left with the fire alarm key in my back pocket.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
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.
