noun
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the process of baking ceramics, etc, in a kiln or furnace
a second firing
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the act of stoking a fire or furnace
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a discharge of a firearm
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something used as fuel, such as coal or wood
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a scorching of plants, as a result of disease, drought, or heat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of firing
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at fire, -ing 1
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:
Those efforts were unsuccessful, he said, so officers began firing so-called less-lethal rounds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Some protesters say the firing of Syrskyi is not enough, vowing to continue their street demonstrations until Fedorov is reinstated as defence minister.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The day you reach the summit, nobody hands you a new one, so the muscle you spent four decades building keeps firing at the wrong target.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
And SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes added that the "Fed can keep the gun on the table without firing it".
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Witches zip by overhead on brooms, cackling madly and firing plumes of black smoke at one another.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Because commissions are small—often three to five members—a well-timed pair of firings can leave a group without the number of members it needs to act.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
The firings leave the four-member commission with no commissioners, meaning it cannot take official action until new members are installed.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
A majority of Supreme Court justices allowed Trump’s firings of other independent federal agency leaders to go forward.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
More than half of the firms surveyed by the British software consultancy OrgVue last year acknowledged that the firings were mistakes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
“Now, with the firings of seven principals, three secretaries and thirty-four teachers, including my own husband, I realize it is no longer enough for me to think these things. I need to say them.”
From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine
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.