FIRING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does firing mean? 

• FIRING (noun)
  The noun FIRING has 4 senses:

1. the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy

2. the act of discharging a gun

3. the act of setting something on fire

4. the termination of someone's employment (leaving them free to depart)

  Familiarity information: FIRING used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FIRING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

fire; firing

Context example:

they retreated in the face of withering enemy fire

Hypernyms ("firing" is a kind of...):

attack; onrush; onset; onslaught ((military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "firing"):

grazing fire (fire approximately parallel to the ground; the center of the cone of fire does rise above 1 meter from the ground)

artillery fire; cannon fire (fire delivered by artillery)

harassing fire (fire designed to disturb the rest of enemy troops and to curtail movement and to lower enemy morale)

indirect fire (fire delivered on a target that is not itself used as the point of aim for the weapons)

interdiction fire (fire directed to an area to prevent the enemy from using that area)

neutralization fire (fire that is delivered in order to render the target ineffective or unusable)

observed fire (fire for which the point of impact (the burst) can be seen by an observer; fire can be adjusted on the basis of the observations)

preparation fire (fire delivered on a target in preparation for an assault)

radar fire (gunfire aimed a target that is being tracked by radar)

registration fire (fire delivered to obtain accurate data for subsequent effective engagement of targets)

scheduled fire (prearranged fire delivered at a predetermined time)

searching fire (fire distributed in depth by successive changes in the elevation of the gun)

supporting fire (fire delivered by supporting units to protect or assist a unit in combat)

suppressive fire (fire on or about a weapon system to degrade its performance below what is needed to fulfill its mission objectives)

unobserved fire (fire for which the point of impact (the bursts) cannot be observed)

hostile fire (fire that injures or kills an enemy)

fratricide; friendly fire (fire that injures or kills an ally)

distributed fire (fire dispersed so as to engage effectively an area target)

direct fire (fire delivered on a target that is visible to the person aiming it)

destruction fire (fire delivered for the sole purpose of destroying material objects)

crossfire (fire from two or more points so that the lines of fire cross)

counterpreparation fire (intensive prearranged fire delivered when the immanence of enemy attack is discovered)

counterfire (fire intended to neutralize or destroy enemy weapons)

concentrated fire; massed fire (fire from two or more weapons directed at a single target or area (as fire by batteries of two or more warships))

cover; covering fire (fire that makes it difficult for the enemy to fire on your own individuals or formations)

call fire (fire delivered on a specific target in response to a request from the supported unit)

burst; fusillade; salvo; volley (rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms)

broadside (the simultaneous firing of all the armament on one side of a warship)

barrage; barrage fire; battery; bombardment; shelling (the heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area rather than hit a specific target)

antiaircraft fire (firing at enemy aircraft)

Derivation:

fire (start firing a weapon)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of discharging a gun

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

discharge; firing; firing off

Hypernyms ("firing" is a kind of...):

shooting; shot (the act of firing a projectile)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "firing"):

gun (the discharge of a firearm as signal or as a salute in military ceremonies)

Derivation:

fire (cause to go off)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of setting something on fire

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

firing; ignition; inflammation; kindling; lighting

Hypernyms ("firing" is a kind of...):

burning; combustion (the act of burning something)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The termination of someone's employment (leaving them free to depart)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

discharge; dismissal; dismission; firing; liberation; release; sack; sacking

Hypernyms ("firing" is a kind of...):

conclusion; ending; termination (the act of ending something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "firing"):

superannuation (the act of discharging someone because of age (especially to cause someone to retire from service on a pension))

conge; congee (an abrupt and unceremonious dismissal)

removal (dismissal from office)

deactivation; inactivation (breaking up a military unit (by transfers or discharges))

honorable discharge (a discharge from the armed forces with a commendable record)

dishonorable discharge (a discharge from the armed forces for a grave offense (as sabotage or espionage or cowardice or murder))

Section Eight (a discharge from the US Army based on unfitness or character traits deemed undesirable)

Derivation:

fire (terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position)

 Context examples 

Researchers found high levels of manganese oxides by using a laser-firing instrument on the rover.

(NASA Rover Findings Point to a More Earth-like Martian Past, NASA)

A synapse in which the firing of the presynaptic cell reduces the probability of firing of the postsynaptic cell.

(Inhibitory Synapse, NCI Thesaurus)

Divalproex may also work by suppressing repetitive neuronal firing through inhibition of voltage-sensitive sodium channels.

(Divalproex Sodium, NCI Thesaurus)

This leads to the opening of chloride channels, causing hyperpolarization, inhibition of neuronal firing, and enhancement of the inhibitory effect of GABA.

(Eszopiclone, NCI Thesaurus)

The process involves freezing virus particles and firing a stream of high-energy electrons through the sample to create tens of thousands of images.

(Zika virus structure revealed, NIH)

Dr. Smith’s lab investigates how breathing is controlled by the rhythmic firing of neurons in the preBötzinger complex, the brain’s breathing center that his lab helped discover.

(Star-like cells may help the brain tune breathing rhythms, National Institutes of Health)

This area contains pyramidal cells that send axons to the CA1 field and acts as a pacemaker, setting the pace for neuronal firing in the hippocampus.

(CA3 Field of the Cornu Ammonis, NCI Thesaurus)

Telemetry received during the plunge indicates that, as expected, Cassini entered Saturn's atmosphere with its thrusters firing to maintain stability, as it sent back a unique final set of science observations.

(Cassini Spacecraft Ends Its Historic Exploration of Saturn, NASA)

An electrocardiographic assessment of the rate of firing of a an artificial, mechanical pacemaker.

(Pacemaker ECG Assessment, NCI Thesaurus)

It is true that we had made a strict resolution against firing, but if it seemed to them that I might be in danger they would not hesitate.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)