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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
“The fire drill was a hard one to choreograph,” said Lewis, who operated the camera.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 12, 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
When the rain came that day, the other gardeners all ran in the same direction, as if in a fire drill.
From "Seedfolks" by Paul Fleischman
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.
