firm

adjective

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\ ˈfərm

Definition of firm

(Entry 1 of 4)

1a : securely or solidly fixed in place his teeth were firm

b : not weak or uncertain : vigorous a firm handshake

c : having a solid or compact structure that resists stress or pressure firm apples

2a(1) : not subject to change or revision a firm offer a firm date

(2) : not subject to price weakness : steady firm commodities

b : not easily moved or disturbed : steadfast a firm believer in democracy

c : well-founded firm evidence of criminal activity

3 : indicating firmness or resolution a firm mouth a firm voice

firm

adverb

Definition of firm (Entry 2 of 4)

: in a firm manner : steadfastly, fixedly

firm

verb

firmed; firming; firms

Definition of firm (Entry 3 of 4)

transitive verb

1a : to make secure or fast : tighten firming her grip on the racquet —often used with up

b : to make solid or compact firm the soil

2 : to put into final form : settle firm a contract firm up plans

3 : to give additional support to : strengthen —usually used with up

intransitive verb

1 : to become firm : harden —often used with up

2 : to recover from a decline : improve the market is firming

firm

noun

Definition of firm (Entry 4 of 4)

1 : the name or title under which a company transacts business

2 : a partnership of two or more persons that is not recognized as a legal person distinct from the members composing it

3 : a business unit or enterprise

Other Words from firm Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about firm

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Synonyms & Antonyms for firm

Synonyms: Adjective

Synonyms: Verb

Synonyms: Noun

Antonyms: Adjective

uncertain,
weak

Antonyms: Verb

Examples of firm in a Sentence

Adjective She has a firm grasp of the basic principles. They insist on maintaining firm control over the project. He spoke to her in a soft but firm voice. The time has come for us to take a firm stand. The children need gentle but firm handling. Noun merged with another firm to become a major player in the brokerage business

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Cuban had made no firm decisions about the place of the anthem in future Mavericks games, but the NBA made the decision for him. — Gilbert Garcia, San Antonio Express-News, "Garcia: Patrick to Mavs: Freedom's just another word for having to play the anthem," 13 Feb. 2021 Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to a couple of hours, until the dough is firm. — Beth Segal, cleveland, "Homemade crackers 2.0: They’re not just for cheese boards anymore," 12 Feb. 2021 For Crawley, the concept of the beauty school is centered on her firm belief that every industry—not just beauty—should believe and invest in the inherent power and cultural influence of Black women. — Bianca Betancourt, Harper's BAZAAR, "Kristen Noel Crawley Is Helping Black Women Disrupt the Beauty Industry," 9 Feb. 2021 Forging an effective, firm policy toward Putin's Kremlin undoubtedly will be one of Biden's biggest foreign policy challenges. — Star Tribune, "Biden needs to show Putin that Trump bromance is over," 8 Feb. 2021 Earn respect by being gentle but firm about standing up for your rights. — Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive, "Horoscope for Feb. 8, 2021: Happy birthday Seth Green; Aquarius, keep an open mind," 8 Feb. 2021 Elizabeth Harris, firm administrator at Kevin Harris Architect LLC, was elected president of SDA Baton Rouge and is co-chair of the national SDA marketing and communications committee. — NOLA.com, "New Orleans, Baton Rouge area People in Business for Feb. 7, 2021," 7 Feb. 2021 Shultz’ reputation for decency and patriotism stood firm while the Nixon and Reagan administrations were scarred by Watergate and the Iran-contra scandals. — Matthew Lee, ajc, "George Shultz wasn't 'afraid to struggle against the odds'," 7 Feb. 2021 Decades of research haven’t established a firm link between violence committed in games and violence committed in real life. — Julie Jargon, WSJ, "Violent Videogames Aren’t Ruining Your Kids—but It’s Good to Discuss Them," 6 Feb. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb After graduating from Yale University in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture (later converted to a master’s degree according to Jack Jr.,) Bialosky Sr. founded the firm now known as Bialosky Cleveland. — Steven Litt, cleveland, "Cleveland architect Jack Bialosky, Sr., a designer of elegant modern houses that reshaped suburbs, has died at age 94," 17 Apr. 2020 Another prominent original occupant — the trust company occupied about half the building — was the Los Angeles law firm now known as O’Melveny & Myers. — Los Angeles Times, "Spring Street’s revival spreads to a downtown landmark: the Trust Building," 20 Sep. 2019 Two law firms, Marchena and Graham and the former Broad & Cassel law firm now known as Nelson Mullins received the bulk of the payments. — Beth Kassab, orlandosentinel.com, "Orlando airport committee leans toward in-house staff attorney," 18 Sep. 2019 Morse is one of Michigan's most visible attorneys with TV spots and billboard ads that call his personal injury law firm the largest in the state. — Jc Reindl, Detroit Free Press, "Judge: Attorney Mike Morse 'at the very center' of no-fault scheme," 3 July 2019 Big-name attorney Morse is one of Michigan's most visible attorneys with TV spots and billboard ads that call his personal injury law firm the largest in the state. — Jc Reindl, Detroit Free Press, "Claim: My husband helped attorney Mike Morse hide MRI center money," 19 June 2019 Congratulations to Robyn Denholm, the new chairwoman of Tesla’s board! Denholm got her start at the now-defunct Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm best known for its work shredding Enron’s documents. — Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, "Tesla’s new chairwoman is walking into SEC and DOJ probes," 9 Nov. 2018 Invesco will pay for the deal with 81.9 million common shares and another $4 billion in preferred shares, making MassMutual the firm’s largest stockholder. — Justin Baer, WSJ, "Invesco to Buy OppenheimerFunds From MassMutual," 18 Oct. 2018 One of that firm’s biggest clients is a company helmed by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. — Matt Richardson, Fox News, "Michael Cohen-linked firm received big payments from Russian oligarch, report says," 9 May 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Dip the end of a cutting in rooting hormone, stick it in the hole and firm the potting mix around it. — Dan Gill, NOLA.com, "Make more flowering maple plants by taking cuttings; here's how to do it right," 27 Jan. 2021 Hospitals are rushing to firm up plans for deciding which health-care workers can receive the Covid-19 vaccine first, with initial supplies widely expected to fall short of the amount needed to vaccinate all high-priority workers. — Melanie Evans, WSJ, "Who Gets Covid-19 Vaccine First? Hospitals Assess How to Divvy Up Shots," 7 Dec. 2020 The usual plan is for teachers to start reteaching lessons from the previous grade a few months in, just to firm things up before the state assessments. — Sandra Upson, Wired, "Covid, Schools, and the High-Stakes Experiment No One Wanted," 18 Jan. 2021 How soft or firm the right mattress is for you is influenced in part by your sleep position and your size. — Anthony Marcusa, chicagotribune.com, "The best mattress for cold sleepers," 22 Dec. 2020 Chill in refrigerator 10 minutes to firm up, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. — Andrea Nguyen, WSJ, "Don’t Want to Go (Entirely) Meatless? Try These Recipes," 30 Dec. 2020 Ceramides, squalene and botanicals (caviar lime, schisandra fruit, illipe butter) help firm, soften and brighten skin, and the no-fuss, gelato-like texture leaves you with a dewy, ungreasy finish. — Kari Molvar, WSJ, "We Tested 50 Face Moisturizers to Find the Best," 16 Dec. 2020 Note that your specimens will continue to firm up after they are removed from the microwave and that too much time will burn the petals and leaves, although some browning can also be beautiful in its own way. — Alexa Brazilian, New York Times, "Separated by Distance? Send Pressed Flowers," 24 Nov. 2020 Place in refrigerator to cool and firm up, at least about 1 hour. — Carol Deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The 2020 'We Energies Cookie Book,' with recipes from professional bakers, debuts Nov. 4," 26 Oct. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun But there are others who don’t see centralization as a problem and openly acknowledge the awesome power of a firm like Amazon. — John Knefel, The New Republic, "Don’t Let Amazon and Airbnb Get Their Tentacles in Vaccine Distribution," 17 Feb. 2021 The round was led by BOND and Tiger Global Management, which has backed companies including Facebook and Peloton, as well as Locus’s previous investors Scale Venture Partners and Prologis Ventures, the venture arm of a logistics facility firm. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, "Locus Robotics raises $150 million, reaching ‘unicorn’ status amid boom in warehouse automation," 17 Feb. 2021 Paul would oversee the creation of an entertainment firm in which Stan would generate new story and character ideas that would then be brought to life in a growing ecosystem: the World Wide Web. — Abraham Riesman, Vulture, "Stan Lee and the Dot-Com Disaster," 12 Feb. 2021 With the recent hire of a Thibodaux design firm, officials from the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and Nicholls State University say the construction of the $14.5 million facility is finally in motion. — Halle Parker | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, "State, Nicholls to build coastal center aimed at studying land loss in southeast Louisiana," 9 Feb. 2021 Through one of his lawyers, Hunter had promised to leave the board of the Chinese firm by the end of October 2019, but his resignation was only submitted to China’s National Credit Information Publicity System in the spring of 2020. — Jerry Dunleavy, Washington Examiner, "Hunter Biden 'has been working to unwind his investment' in Chinese firm: White House," 5 Feb. 2021 Last summer, one of the 12-year-old firm’s products became the first-ever antiviral product to receive federal approval to continuously protect against COVID-19 with a single application. — Steve Brown, Dallas News, "Plano firm doubles headquarters as it produces COVID-19 fighting products," 4 Feb. 2021 The chief executive of a small Chicago-area marketing firm was fired after he was arrested for entering the Capitol on Jan. 6. — Patrick Thomas, WSJ, "A Florida CEO Posted His Selfie in Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Now, Some Longtime Customers Are Boycotting His Company.," 30 Jan. 2021 Elam went on to become one of the first female principals of an architect firm. — Martha Anne Tudor, ajc, "George Heery, 93, left fingerprints across Atlanta’s architecture," 26 Jan. 2021

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