firebreak

[ fahyuh r-breyk ]

/ ˈfaɪərˌbreɪk /

noun

a strip of plowed or cleared land made to check the spread of a prairie or forest fire.

Nearby words

fireboat, firebomb, firebox, firebrand, firebrat, firebreak, firebrick, firebug, firebush, firecracker, firecracker flower

Origin of firebreak

First recorded in 1890–95; fire + break

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for firebreak

She crossed the firebreak and rode up over the ridge calling her cheery "Hoo-hoo-hoo!"
Land of the Burnt Thigh|Edith Eudora Kohl
If there were poles, it might be the clearing for a telegraph line to a signal station; if it was broader, a firebreak.
In the Track of the Trades|Lewis R. Freeman

British Dictionary definitions for firebreak

firebreak

/ (ˈfaɪəˌbreɪk) /

noun

Also: fireguard, fire line a strip of open land in a forest or on a prairie, to arrest the advance of a fire

a measure taken to arrest the advance of anything dangerous or harmful

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