fire engine

noun

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of fire engine

: a usually mobile apparatus for directing an extinguishing agent upon fires; especially : fire truck

See fire engine defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of fire engine from the Web

Three ambulances and at least three fire engines were dispatched.

— don stacom, Courant Community, "Injuries Reported In Multi-Vehicle Crash On I-84 In Farmington," 8 Apr. 2018
The village has already received a new fire engine, soon to be put in service.

— staff report, chicagotribune.com, "River Grove to use funds from tax increase to help refurbish village's aging vehicle stock," 21 Mar. 2018
Several fire engines and trucks were called to the scene, and the flames were extinguished within 10 minutes.

— andy nguyen, latimes.com, "3 cars destroyed, 5 damaged from unknown substance that caught fire," 7 Mar. 2018
Ambulances, police vehicles and fire engines were rolling into the area.

— christal hayes, USA TODAY, "Avalanche closes Mammoth Mountain, popular California ski destination, after three partially buried," 3 Mar. 2018
Firefighters rescued residents using the city's dump trucks or their fire engines, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a piece.

— st. john barned-smith, Houston Chronicle, "Houston votes to spend $2 million on new rescue boats, highwater rescue vehicles, for fire dept.," 28 Feb. 2018
Residents worried about the hubbub and with only one street open into the neighborhood north of the celebration, wondered whether ambulances and fire engines could get to emergencies.

— jane ford-stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Harley-Davidson anniversary party means Layton Avenue in Greenfield to be closed down," 19 Feb. 2018
For example, a new type of wifi system called Lorawan is being outfitted on fire engines, said John Wechsler, a co-founder of the IoT lab and the founder of the collaborative sharing space, Launch Fishers.

— john tuohy, Indianapolis Star, "Can new Internet of Things lab in Fishers improve the world?," 12 Jan. 2018
There were Irish dancers, live concerts, bagpipers, marching bands, floats, fire engines, plenty of food and green beer.

— wayne k. roustan, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick's Parade & Festival absolutely the curk," 11 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fire engine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of fire engine

1626

in the meaning defined above

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FIRE ENGINE Defined for English Language Learners

fire engine

noun

Definition of fire engine for English Language Learners

: a truck that has equipment for putting out fires

FIRE ENGINE Defined for Kids

fire engine

noun

Definition of fire engine for Students

: a truck equipped to fight fires

Learn More about fire engine

Spanish Central: Translation of fire engine Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fire engine

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fire engine

Definition of fire engine

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FIRE ENGINE Defined for English Language Learners

fire engine

Definition of fire engine for English Language Learners

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fire engine

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