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fire drill

American

noun

a practice drill for a company of firefighters, the crew of a ship, etc., to train them in their duties in case of fire.
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.

fire drill British

noun

a rehearsal of duties or escape procedures to be followed in case of fire

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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 the Tuesday meeting, it was brought up that the charter did not participate in a recent fire drill.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2025

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

Hey, I bet they’re going to pretend the fire drill went off all right.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023