fire screen

American  

noun

1. a screen placed in front of a fireplace for protection, especially from sparks.

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fire screen British  

noun

1. a decorative screen placed in the hearth when there is no fire

2. a screen placed before a fire to protect the face from intense heat

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Etymology

Origin of fire screen

First recorded in 1750–60

Example Sentences

If your fireplace doesn’t have built-in doors or metal mesh curtains, a fire screen that will prevent sizzling logs from spewing burning embers into the room is essential.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 29, 2022

It’s 24 inches in diameter. A patterned fire screen surrounds a 14-inch fire box containing a 75,000 BTU stainless steel star burner.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2016

The book gives condition reports, down to chipped corners on a Steuben glass ashtray and silver paint spattered on a William Hunt Diederich fire screen.

From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2011

A visitor could plantation-hop to the point of exhaustion, ogling horse-hair settees and even seeing, at Rosedown, a fire screen said to be stitched by Martha Washington.

From New York Times • Apr. 15, 2010

Father bathes in the private office and Mother in the kitchen behind a fire screen, while Margot and I have declared the front office to be our bathing grounds.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank