firefighter

American  

[fahyuhr-fahy-ter] / ˈfaɪərˌfaɪ tɛr /

Or fire fighter

noun

• firefighters
  plural

1. a person who fights destructive fires.

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firefighter British  

/ ˈfaɪəˌfaɪtə /

noun

1. a person who fights fires, usually a public employee or trained volunteer

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• firefighting
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• firefighters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of firefighter

First recorded in 1900–05; fire + fighter

Explanation

A firefighter is someone whose job involves investigating and putting out accidental blazes. If your gas stove ignites a towel and you can't put out the flames, call the firefighters! The word fireman is older than firefighter, which first appeared in the late 19th century, and for a long time it was much more commonly used. These days, it's more accurate to use firefighter, since men and women both work for fire departments battling fires. Also, the word perfectly describes the job itself, fighting dangerous fires.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

firefighter firefighters

Florida firefighter sets record as shortest woman in profession.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

And in an election year, politicians of both parties running to remain in office like to win support from the police and firefighter unions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Company leaders worked with Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore and paid for firefighter assistance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Retired New York firefighter John Fila said his firehouse lost 15 members on 9/11.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

In Sequim your butcher might also be the volunteer firefighter who saved your house or barn, as well as the neighbor who helped you rebuild it.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

More than 3,300 firefighters took part in the operation, which officials described as the largest firefighting effort in modern French civil security history.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

As the climatologist Jeffrey Shaman writes in the Times, El Niño offers governments a chance to prepare, whether by funding firefighters or creating warning systems for residents during heat waves.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

For more than a week after the fire began, residents in Boyle Heights and East L.A. endured acrid smoke as firefighters struggled to put out the flames.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

"As the task becomes more challenging, the very least firefighters should be able to rely on is access to the water they need to protect people and property."

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

“They must think that there are, or the firefighters would be here rescuing us by now,” Diana said.

From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau