firing /'faiarirj/ noun
1 [U]
the action of firing guns ft ®; % ft; IF A;
JF 15; JF F&: There was continuous firing throughout the night. 2 [U, C] (espe
cially NAmE) the action of forcing sb to leave their
job $? US : teachers protesting against the firing
of a colleague 0 She’s responsible for
the hirings and firings.
'firing line noun IT»171 be in the 'firing line{BrE) {NAmE be on the 'firing line) 1 to
be in a position where you can be shot at &h7ttFS 2 to be in a position
where people can criticize or blame you FtiXIISltti-f ( f&vt & )
Ftfji&Fv: The employment secretary found himself in the firing line over
recent job cuts. iftikAE0;ill$3l$iRfit
'firing squad noun [C+sing./pl. v., U] a
group of soldiers who are ordered to shoot and kill sb who is found guilty of a
crime CTJFA ( ft 7J ff<J fMA 7i ft Ft A [: He was executed
by (a) firing squad.
firkin /'f3:km; NAmE 'f3:rkin/ noun (old use) 1 a
small barrel (= a round container
with flat ends), used mainly for liquids, butter or fish (
^ ) /Mg 2 a unit for
measuring volume, equal to about 41 litres m ( WMftFft, ft)
firm 0-w /f3:m; NAmEf3:rm/ noun, adj., adv., verb u noun a business or company
^ ft; p§! ft; £: an engineering firm
X^e7^3 o a firm of accountants
7 if
madj. (firm er,
firm-est) 1 fairly hard; not easy to press into a different
shape 111 0 ; M ?J! a firm
bed/mattress % if] fts /)%. 0 These peaches are still
firm. 0 Bake the cakes until they are
firm to the touch. 2 not
likely to change M (tfj; MAl$:
a
firm
believer in socialism M ^ Fil F>M± 7
A W A o a firm
agreement/date/decision/offer/promise JJ10
MAW&ffio/irm
beliefs/conclusions/convictions/principles W
Ft#; MaeWFs;& / HfJ 0 She is a firm favourite
with the children. 7 FH if H ft M. „ 0 We have no firm evidence to support the case, FH & 7 it W il
lli 0 They remained firm friends. FlfeFHFt^ a 3 strongly
fixed in place ft 0 W ; F§ 0 W H771 secure: Stand the fish tank on a firm base. fEii.
0 No building can stand
without firm foundations, and neither can a marriage. ft It 0
4
(of sb’s voice
or hand movements ft ft
^ X ^) strong and steady ® JfA W; MAW: ‘No, ’ she repeated, her voice firmer
this time. “Xo ” &Aifl^&liuMAc
o With a
firm grip on my hand, he pulled me away.
FEfiofeJFo
0 Her handshake was cool and firm. MU 7
ft a£ ffi ft A o 5 (of sb’s behaviour, position or
understanding of sth fj A, strong
and in control
ft ft & $'J W ; ft W
; ^ 11 : to exercise firm
control/disciplineAeadership % ft F# W F$ /'ffi W / o Parents must be firm with their children, M^XAftF&o 0 The
company now has a firm footing in the marketplace.
{?H0 0 This book will
give your students a firm grasp of English grammar.
0
We need to keep a firm grip on the situation. ftfti&fttSjljffic 6 [usually before noun]
~ (against sth) (of a country’s money, etc. ft ff5
ft) not lower than another M15 W : The euro remained firm against the
dollar, but fell against the yen. Ffi
#
0 TtWC^fWTffiu — see also firmly ► firm-ness noun [uj ITTTTTI be on firm 'ground to be in a strong
position in an argument, etc. because you know the facts ( £|#i£ft7
) £^Mte, Xl^^liFtA;^: Everyone
agreed with me, so I knew I was on firm ground.
fH 7o a firm 'hand strong
control or discipline 70S t'J; T'f&itW; ftM: Those children need
a firm hand to make them behave. 8P & 7 F# ft ffi If He „ take a
firm line/'stand
(on/against sth) to make your beliefs known and to try to make others
follow them ( ft ■ • I)
^XMae-) : We
need to take a firm line on tobacco advertising. ISFFMlK2f ^ 7 i 5f!
school. mv&tkfcftmmmmima
madv. fT»77n hold 'firm (to sth) {formal) to believe sth
strongly and not change your mind MFa; Ml# : She held firm to her
principles. MM1# g S WIEM'J 0 stand fast/'firm
to
refuse to move back; to refuse to change your opinions
■
verb 1 [VN] to make sth
become stronger or harder F^® Hr; F£M[II; Firm
the soil around the plant. IE
0
This product claims to firm your
body in six weeks.
2
[V] ~ (to/at ... ) {finance HI) (of shares, prices, etc.
M. WuiftW) to become steady or
rise steadily M15; H Rank’s shares firmed 3p to 696p.
Hit
7 3 fg±, ?FS 696 fg±0 EDSia ,«rm up to become harder or
more solid ^ M 0; $ M ^: Put the mixture somewhere cool to firm up.
1E/I7*
A $ If o .firm 'up sth 1 to make arrangements
more final and fixed The company has
not yet firmed up its
plans for expansion. $JiT Ait jc(J
0 O The precise details still have to
be
firmed up. itfift
Mffl XFftmUls 2 to
make sth
harder or more solid FJM0;
F£MFi; A few
weeks of aerobics will firm
up that flabby stomach, fl 7
firmament /'faimamant; NAmE 'f3:rm-/ noun the firmament [sing.] {old use or literary) the sky 7 $;
:
{figurative) a rising star in the literary firmament fc
f I rm ly o-w /'f3:mli; NAmE 'f3:rm-/ adv. in a strong or
definite way M aE
0
It is now firmly established as one of the leading brands in the country. ±
—
„ 0 Keep
your eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead. ^ FOiilMWmrAo
firm-ware /'f3:mwe9(r); NAmE ‘feirmwer/ noun [U] {computing if) a type of computer software that is
stored in such a way that it cannot be changed or lost
JB#
first On /f3:st; NAmE f3:rst/ det., ordinal number, adv., noun
mdet., ordinal number 1 happening or
coming before all other similar things or people; 1st % — his first wife 7
O It was the first time they had ever met. fillFH^^JEffi
o 0 I didn’t take the
first bus.
o students in their
first year at college your first
impressions ifctflfJJjfr
Ep
% 0 She resolved to do it at the first {= earliest) opportunity. ^£F$o o King Edward I (= said
as ‘King Edward the
First’) 0 the first of
May/May 1st * 5 fj 1 0 0 His second book is
better than his first.
important or best ftYour
first duty is to your family. $ If ii Ji
Ijl ft, 0
She won first prize in the competition. M 7If 7 F# o 0 an
issue of the first importance ft S ^ FtfJ 0 M IT71771 there’s a first time for everything {saying, humorous) the fact that sth has
not happened before does not mean that it will never happen ^ %
X1$
—
more at order n.
u adv. 1 before anyone or
anything else; at the beginning JIlU: ‘Do you want a drink?’ ‘I’ll finish my
workfirsf “immmm®,? ” ”
0
First I had to decide what to wear. 75fel^,F#iA/E^Ff
A 0 0 Who came first in
the race (= who won)? U jlfiit 0 It
plunged nose first into the river. l£—
7X 7 o 2 for the first
time ft—^; It /A: When did you first meet him? ffifnFlfelU^CJEffiJiffiffi? 3 used to introduce the first
of a list of points you want to make in a speech or piece of writing ( 3?iJ ^ ft ffi ) ft — , ig-
jfe H771 firstly : This method has two advantages: first it is
cheaper and second it is quicker. j&7A!£ft‘ffi'7F£
4 used
to emphasize that you are determined not to do sth ( ) t
of, 7£S: She swore
that she wouldn’t apologize—she’d