fireman








noun, plural fire·men.

  1. a person employed to extinguish or prevent fires; firefighter.
  2. a person employed to tend fires; stoker.
  3. Railroads.
    1. a person employed to fire and lubricate a steam locomotive.
    2. a person employed to assist the engineer of a diesel or electric locomotive.
  4. U.S. Navy. an enlisted person assigned to the care and operation of a ship’s machinery.
  5. British Mining. fire boss.
  6. Baseball. relief pitcher.

noun plural -men

  1. a man who fights fires, usually a public employee or trained volunteerGender-neutral form: firefighter
    1. (on steam locomotives) the man who stokes the fire and controls the injectors feeding water to the boiler
    2. (on diesel and electric locomotives) the driver’s assistant
  2. a man who tends furnaces; stoker
  3. Also called: deputy a mine official responsible for safety precautionsUS equivalent: fire boss
  4. US navy a junior rating who works on marine engineering equipment
  5. informal any employee who is dispatched to deal with trouble at short notice
n.

late 14c., “tender of a fire,” from fire (n.) + man (n.). As “person hired to put out (rather than tend) fires” it is attested from 1714.

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