"firebreak" meaning in English

See firebreak in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: firebreaks [plural], fire break [alternative]
Etymology: From fire + break. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|fire|break}} fire + break Head templates: {{en-noun}} firebreak (plural firebreaks)
  1. An area cleared of all flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading across it. Categories (topical): Firefighting Synonyms: firetrail [Australia] Translations (area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading): tallafoc [masculine] (Catalan), brandbælte [neuter] (Danish), palokuja (Finnish), palolinja (Finnish), palokatu (Finnish), devasa [feminine] (Galician), cortalumes [masculine] (Galician), Brandschneise [feminine] (German), 방화선 (banghwaseon) (alt: 防火線) (Korean), aceiro [masculine] (Portuguese), atalhada [feminine] (Portuguese), cortafuegos [masculine] (Spanish), cortafuego [masculine] (Spanish), strimyn atal tân [masculine] (Welsh)
    Sense id: en-firebreak-en-noun-fosfMPiT Disambiguation of Firefighting: 80 20 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with Galician translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Korean translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Welsh translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 55 45 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 60 40 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 71 29 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 60 40 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 60 40 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 69 31 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 60 40 Disambiguation of Terms with Galician translations: 60 40 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 62 38 Disambiguation of Terms with Korean translations: 60 40 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 63 37 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 69 31 Disambiguation of Terms with Welsh translations: 61 39 Disambiguation of 'area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading': 94 6
  2. (figurative) Any separating barrier. Tags: figuratively
    Sense id: en-firebreak-en-noun-9YXL2TWa

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fire",
        "3": "break"
      },
      "expansion": "fire + break",
      "name": "compound"
    }
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  "etymology_text": "From fire + break.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "firebreaks",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
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    },
    {
      "form": "fire break",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
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  "head_templates": [
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      "expansion": "firebreak (plural firebreaks)",
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  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
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          "_dis": "55 45",
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          "_dis": "62 38",
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          "_dis": "63 37",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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        {
          "_dis": "80 20",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Firefighting",
          "orig": "en:Firefighting",
          "parents": [
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            "Fire",
            "Public safety",
            "Combustion",
            "Light sources",
            "Public administration",
            "Security",
            "Chemical processes",
            "Light",
            "Government",
            "Society",
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            "Politics",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The firefighters used a bulldozer to clear a firebreak in the forest to try to contain the forest fire.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An area cleared of all flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading across it."
      ],
      "id": "en-firebreak-en-noun-fosfMPiT",
      "links": [
        [
          "flammable",
          "flammable"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "Australia"
          ],
          "word": "firetrail"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "tallafoc"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "brandbælte"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "word": "palokuja"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "word": "palolinja"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "word": "palokatu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "devasa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "cortalumes"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Brandschneise"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "alt": "防火線",
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "banghwaseon",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "word": "방화선"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "aceiro"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "atalhada"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "cortafuegos"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "tags": [
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          "word": "cortafuego"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "cy",
          "lang": "Welsh",
          "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "strimyn atal tân"
        }
      ]
    },
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1984, Dietrich Schroeer, Science, Technology and the Nuclear Arms Race, page 293:",
          "text": "That policy could consist of a statement that the declaring nation would not be the first to use nuclear weapons. This would strengthen the firebreak between the use of conventional and nuclear weapons.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Daniel Levine, Recovering International Relations: The Promise of Sustainable Critique, page 112:",
          "text": "First, it serves to demonstrate that the practice of sustainable critique […] need not be impossibly philosophically rarefied […] Second, it serves as a firebreak against the unrelieved negativity that, it is sometimes charged, follows from Adorno's practices of reflexivity.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any separating barrier."
      ],
      "id": "en-firebreak-en-noun-9YXL2TWa",
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        "(figurative) Any separating barrier."
      ],
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      ]
    }
  ],
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  ],
  "word": "firebreak"
}
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    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with Galician translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Korean translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Welsh translations",
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  ],
  "etymology_text": "From fire + break.",
  "forms": [
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      "tags": [
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    },
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      "form": "fire break",
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
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          "text": "The firefighters used a bulldozer to clear a firebreak in the forest to try to contain the forest fire.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
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        "An area cleared of all flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading across it."
      ],
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          "flammable",
          "flammable"
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      "synonyms": [
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          "word": "firetrail"
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        {
          "ref": "1984, Dietrich Schroeer, Science, Technology and the Nuclear Arms Race, page 293:",
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        {
          "ref": "2012, Daniel Levine, Recovering International Relations: The Promise of Sustainable Critique, page 112:",
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          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any separating barrier."
      ],
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        "(figurative) Any separating barrier."
      ],
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "tallafoc"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "brandbælte"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "word": "palokuja"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "word": "palolinja"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "word": "palokatu"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "devasa"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "cortalumes"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Brandschneise"
    },
    {
      "alt": "防火線",
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "banghwaseon",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "word": "방화선"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "aceiro"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "atalhada"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "cortafuegos"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "cortafuego"
    },
    {
      "code": "cy",
      "lang": "Welsh",
      "sense": "area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "strimyn atal tân"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "en:firebreak"
  ],
  "word": "firebreak"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-03-30 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-03-21 using wiktextract (fef8596 and 633533e). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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