firm
1 Americanadjective
-
firmer,
comparative
-
firmest
superlative
-
not soft or yielding when pressed; comparatively solid, hard, stiff, or rigid.
firm ground;
firm texture.
-
securely fixed in place.
-
not shaking or trembling; steady.
a firm voice.
-
not likely to change; fixed; settled; unalterable.
a firm belief.
- Synonyms:
- confirmed
-
steadfast or unwavering, as persons or principles.
firm friends.
- Synonyms:
- reliable, staunch, immovable, determined
-
indicating firmness or determination.
a firm expression.
-
not fluctuating much or falling, as prices, values, etc..
The stock market was firm today.
verb (used with object)
-
firms,
present (3rd person singular)
-
firmed,
past participle, past
-
firming
present participle
-
to make firm; tighten or strengthen (sometimes followed byup ).
to firm up one's hold on something.
-
to steady or fix (sometimes followed byup ).
to firm up prices.
verb (used without object)
-
firms,
present (3rd person singular)
-
firmed,
past participle, past
-
firming
present participle
-
to become firm or fixed (sometimes followed byup ).
Butter firms by churning.
-
(of prices, markets, etc.) to recover; become stronger, as after a decline (sometimes followed byup ).
Stock prices firmed again today.
adverb
adjective
-
not soft or yielding to a touch or pressure; rigid; solid
-
securely in position; stable or stationary
-
definitely established; decided; settled
-
enduring or steady; constant
-
having determination or strength; resolute
-
(of prices, markets, etc) tending to rise
adverb
verb
-
(sometimes foll by up) to make or become firm
-
(intr) horse racing (of a horse) to shorten in odds
noun
-
a business partnership
-
any commercial enterprise
-
a team of doctors and their assistants
-
slang
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a gang of criminals
-
a gang of football hooligans
-
Synonym Usage
Firm, hard, solid, stiff are applied to substances that tend to retain their form unaltered in spite of pressure or force. Firm often implies that something has been brought from a yielding state to a fixed or elastic one: An increased amount of pectin makes jellies firm. Hard is applied to substances so resistant that it is difficult to make any impression upon their surface or to penetrate their interior: as hard as a stone. Solid is applied to substances that without external support retain their form and resist pressure: Water in the form of ice is solid. It sometimes denotes the opposite of hollow: a solid block of marble. Stiff implies rigidity that resists a bending force: as stiff as a poker.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
firmsimple
-
firmssimple
-
have firmedperfect
-
has firmedperfect
-
am firmingprogressive
-
are firmingprogressive
-
is firmingprogressive
-
have been firmingperfect progressive
-
has been firmingperfect progressive
Past
-
firmedsimple
-
had firmedperfect
-
was firmingprogressive
-
were firmingprogressive
-
had been firmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of firm1
First recorded in 1300–50; from Latin firmus; replacing Middle English ferm(e), from Middle French ferm(e), from Latin
Origin of firm2
First recorded in 1565–75; from Spanish firma “signature” (hence, legal name of a partnership), noun derivative of firmar “to sign,” from Latin firmāre “to strengthen, confirm,” derivative of firmus firm 1
Explanation
The adjective firm describes something that's strong and unwavering. If your great Aunt Martha had a firm belief that children should be seen and not heard, you and your siblings might have spent your childhood driving her crazy. Something that is solid can also be described as firm. When you take a stick of butter out of the fridge, it's firm, and it needs to soften before you cream it with sugar. Another definition for the adjective firm is unwavering or loyal. You might be a firm supporter of your favorite baseball team, even though they haven't made it to a World Series in more than twenty years.
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:
It was the first time the MPA had filed a cease-and-desist letter to a major AI firm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
These were the findings of a note exploring the wealth effect published Monday by Montreal-based investment research firm BCA.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
The recent move could set up the firm for a public debut this year, though there are no guarantees the firm will proceed, and the plans partly depend on market conditions, the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The viral Welsh vodka firm Au Vodka is nearing a £500m sale to Southern Comfort and BuzzBallz owner Sazerac.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Like most of what befell them in the financial markets, their first brush with a big Wall Street firm was delightfully weird but ultimately inexplicable.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
General Atlantic is part of a group of Wall Street firms that recently teamed up with Anthropic to sell artificial-intelligence tools to companies, including those backed by private-equity firms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
And just 2% of firms quantified the impact of AI productivity on earnings, a similar share to the first quarter of 2026.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Last year, the government allowed private firms to build and operate atomic power projects, underlining a push for alternative energy.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
He does not know that his books are being bought for it or similar projects by other AI firms.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
It was possible to get ripped off by the big Wall Street firms in the stock market, but you really had to work at it.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Use a mix of light and firmer pressure.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Strengthening newbuild demand in shipbuilding and a firmer pricing outlook increasingly suggest this, the analyst says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
But there may be a force at play with an even firmer hold on the American man: gas prices.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
However, the stoppage of short-term speculation can put the market on firmer ground, said Minter.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
I still felt as a wanderer on the face of the earth; but I experienced firmer trust in myself and my own powers, and less withering dread of oppression.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Intel looks to be “on its firmest footing in years,” Seaport Research analyst Jay Goldberg said in a Thursday note.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 25, 2026
But then there’s also the nagging feeling that Tøndel doesn’t have the firmest grasp on his own material.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2025
So far the firmest interest in Ramsdale has come from Wolves, who have made an offer to sign the 26-year-old England international on a season-long loan.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2024
“It’s probably the firmest evidence yet that this planet has an atmosphere,” said Ian Crossfield, an astronomer at the University of Kansas who studies exoplanets and was not involved with the research.
From Seattle Times ● May 8, 2024
I say, in my firmest, calmest astronaut voice.
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Job growth, which stalled at the end of last year, has firmed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
That position probably isn’t at risk—the two companies recently disclosed an agreement which firmed up their relationship through 2031.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
He said industry guidance had been "firmed up".
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
Solid job gains and low unemployment would be seen by a majority of Fed officials as further evidence that the labor market has firmed.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026
Marietta firmed up her face and shook her head.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
"For now, people are sharpening their swords and firming up their positions," auto analyst Stefan Bratzel of the Centre of Automotive Management told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
The report suggests the labor market is firming across multiple sectors after near-zero job growth last year, despite more recent concerns about rising energy prices that have driven consumer sentiment to a record low.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
“A majority of participants highlighted, however, that some policy firming would likely become appropriate if inflation were to continue to run persistently above 2%,” the minutes noted.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
Data earlier this week from the Labor Department and human-resources firm ADP showed that the job market is firming up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
In a field beyond, a small donkey was drawing a stone roller three feet long and one foot in diameter, firming the crests of narrow, sharp, recently formed ridges, two at a time.
From Farmers of Forty Centuries; Or, Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea, and Japan by F. H. (Franklin Hiram) King
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.
