firefighter
Americannoun
-
firefighters
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of firefighter
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.
Vocabulary lists containing firefighter
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.
See Examples For:
One firefighter was hospitalised and five others suffered minor injuries, the fire service confirmed, with crews continuing to extinguish "hotspots" in open grassland, along a railway and in gardens.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
An 18-year-old firefighter who combined his A-levels with responding to emergency calls is among thousands of students getting results on Thursday morning.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
A Pasadena firefighter suffered an undisclosed leg injury during the rescue operation and was also taken to a local hospital for treatment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
As for drones, firefighter Guillaume Millet says they're being tested in France for sea rescue, dropping lifebuoys and survival kits, but there's no drone tech that's reached that stage yet for firefighting.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Fellow firefighter William Gillespie was already there, retrieving something from his locker.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
Soldiers have been providing logistical support, including water distribution, to assist firefighters and specialist responders.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Military helicopters backed by tractors on the ground hauled water Sunday to help firefighters tame Belgium's largest modern-day wildfire, which mushroomed in size since breaking out two days earlier in a hard-to-access nature reserve.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
He said his firefighters have "very specialist skills" to tackle wildfires with military assistance enabling him to "focus all of that in the right place".
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
The mall’s survival amid the community’s devastation was not without controversy given Caruso’s use of private firefighters to ward off the flames.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
They could hear the firefighters speaking gently to Natalie: “Young lady, can we call someone for you?”
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
