fire tower

noun

: a tower (as in a forest) from which a watch for fires is maintained

Examples of fire tower in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Firefighters peered into the stormy night from fire towers to make sure no fires were afoot. Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2024 Their pranks inadvertently led to the boy’s death — falling from that aforementioned fire tower — followed by the men’s own mysterious slaughter. Dennis Harvey, Variety, 23 Jan. 2024 And Lanman mentioned that a Buffalo Lookout fire tower had existed in the area. Bill Bowden, arkansasonline.com, 16 Nov. 2023 In New Jersey the state Forest Fire Service has mounted a Firewise USA campaign throughout the Pine Barrens and installed fire towers, which are staffed whenever the forest is dry enough to burn. Jane Braxton Little, Scientific American, 23 Aug. 2023 According to West Virginia State Parks, the 65-foot fire tower was originally built in the 1920s by the Civilian Conservation Corps to help both prevent and fight forest fires. Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 9 Aug. 2023 At the top, climb the fire tower and soak in the 360-degree view of the wilderness—one almost unchanged from the time of the Great Camps. Liz Cantrell, Travel + Leisure, 23 July 2023 The first time, a rainstorm pelted me while atop an open-air fire tower, soaking my stuff during a cold Vermont night. Grayson Haver Currin, Outside Online, 27 July 2021 The namesake mountain, once the site of an 1800s resort with Oscar Wilde on its guest log, is just one of the area's many hiking opportunities; its trails ramble through oak and pine forest to a fire tower at the peak. Anne Olivia Bauso, Travel + Leisure, 28 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fire tower.' 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

1835, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fire tower was in 1835

Dictionary Entries Near fire tower

Cite this Entry

“Fire tower.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fire%20tower. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fire tower

noun
: a tower (as in a forest) from which a watch for fires is kept

More from Merriam-Webster on fire tower

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