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first responder
noun
: a person (such as a police officer or an EMT) who is among those responsible for going immediately to the scene of an accident or emergency to provide assistance
Examples of first responder in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
With some forty-six million dollars from Norfolk Southern, there’d soon be a new park, a rail depot, and a high-tech training facility for first responders.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2024
Because power was out to much of the area, security camera video generally wasn’t available, so investigators had to rely on interviews with residents and first responders to piece together the events.
—Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024
The morning of April 15, 2023, a first responder responded to Walker’s cell after a report of a cardiac arrest, and he was pronounced dead, the complaint says.
—Julia Marnin, Sacramento Bee, 18 Apr. 2024
South Bay residents Phil Ortega, 31, and Paige Vitale, 32, are accused of negligently leaving narcotics around the home off Southwest Expressway where first responders were called Aug. 12 and discovered that Winter had been dead for more than half a day.
—Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
The bill was authored by Republican lawmakers, who also cited the need to help first responders identify electric vehicles.
—Journal Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2024
Maynard told first responders he was injured in a recent incident involving a metal pipe, according to police.
—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2024
That's when the rescue operation began, and first responders tried to confirm how many construction workers were missing.
—Mansee Khurana, NPR, 4 Apr. 2024
Wisconsin Department of Transportation cameras show a significant presence of first responders at the scene.
—Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'first responder.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1970, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near first responder
Cite this Entry
“First responder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/first%20responder. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
Kids Definition
first responder
noun
first re·spond·er
-ri-ˈspän-dər
: a person (as a police officer or an EMT) who is among those responsible for going immediately to the scene of an accident or emergency to provide assistance
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