definitions

firefighter

or fire fight·er

[ fahyuh r-fahy-ter ]
/ ˈfaɪərˌfaɪ tɛr /
|

noun

a person who fights destructive fires.

Nearby words

firecrest, firedamp, firedog, firedrake, firefight, firefighter, firefighting, fireflood, firefly, fireguard, firehorse

Origin of firefighter

First recorded in 1900–05; fire + fighter
Related formsfire·fight·ing, noun, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for firefighting

  • But it hadn't rained in seven months, and the country's firefighting budget had been downscaled over several decades.

    Israel's Inferno|Fania Oz-Salzberger|December 5, 2010|DAILY BEAST

  • Firefighting is a police function, accomplished by the Fire Police.

    Area Handbook for Albania|Eugene K. Keefe

  • The apparatus for firefighting was of the type most city people have forgotten.

    The Girl and Her Religion|Margaret Slattery

British Dictionary definitions for firefighting (1 of 2)

firefighting

/ (ˈfaɪəˌfaɪtɪŋ) /

noun

  1. the occupation of attempting to control and extinguish fires
  2. (as modifier)firefighting equipment
the practice of reacting to urgent problems as they arise, as opposed to planning for the future

British Dictionary definitions for firefighting (2 of 2)

firefighter

/ (ˈfaɪəˌfaɪtə) /

noun

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

Word Origin and History for firefighting

firefighter

n.

1903, from fire (n.) + fighter.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper