Meaning & use
fireguard
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Meaning
nouncountableBritish
A screen or frame of metal placed in front of an open fire to stop sparks and protect people, especially children, from the flames.
Grammar: Countable and mostly British: put the fireguard in place.
Patterns
- a fireguard around something
- put up a fireguard
Dad always put the fireguard in front of the fire before we went to bed.
They fitted a fireguard when the baby began to crawl.
A hot ember landed on the fireguard instead of the carpet.
Word forms
| plural | fireguards |
|---|
Common combinations
- put up a fireguard
- Please put up the fireguard before you leave the room.
- wire fireguard
- A wire fireguard stood in front of the old stove.
- fit a fireguard
- The landlord must fit a fireguard in rooms with open fires.
- safety fireguard
- A safety fireguard is essential with young children around.
- behind the fireguard
- The cat slept behind the fireguard, warm but safe.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fire screen
- Fire screen is the usual American term and may be mainly decorative, while a fireguard is chiefly for safety.
- spark guard
- A spark guard specifically stops flying embers, so it is a narrower, more technical term than fireguard.
- firebreak
- A firebreak is a gap that stops outdoor fires spreading, unlike a fireguard, which sits in front of a hearth.
Word family
Commonly confused: fireguard or firewall?
fireguard vs firewall
A firewall is either a fire-resistant wall or, more often today, computer security software; it is not placed before a hearth.
Practice
A parent places a fireguard in front of an open fire mainly to
Choose one answer.
A fireguard is a safety screen. It does not add heat or darkness and does not clean a chimney.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fireguard”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.