firefighter

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A person whose job is to put out fires and rescue people from danger.

   Grammar: Countable: a firefighter, three firefighters.

   Patterns

   • a firefighter in somewhere

   The firefighter carried the dog out of the smoky apartment.

   Firefighters arrived within five minutes of the call.

   My cousin trained for two years to become a firefighter.

2. 2nouncountable

   A member of a volunteer crew that fights wildfires or grass fires, often unpaid and part-time.

   Grammar: Countable: volunteer firefighters work in many rural areas.

   Patterns

   • a volunteer firefighter

   Volunteer firefighters from three towns helped contain the brush fire.

   She works as a teacher but is also a volunteer firefighter.

   Wildland firefighters spend weeks away from home in summer.

Word forms

Common combinations

volunteer firefighter

He has been a volunteer firefighter for ten years.

brave firefighter

A brave firefighter saved the child.

firefighter training

Firefighter training includes heavy fitness tests.

call a firefighter

Residents were told to call a firefighter if they smelled gas.

local firefighters

Local firefighters put out the blaze.

Synonyms and how they differ

fireman

is the older word and applies to men only, so firefighter is preferred today.

fire fighter

is the same word written as two words, which is less common now.

fire-service worker

is a wider phrase and may include staff who do not fight fires.

first responder

is broader and covers police and paramedics as well as firefighters.

Opposites

Word family

fire noun

burning that gives heat and light

fight verb

to struggle against

firefighting noun

the work of controlling fires

fire engine noun

a truck used by firefighters

Commonly confused: firefighter or fireman?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “firefighter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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