fire wall

noun

1
: a wall constructed to prevent the spread of fire
2
usually firewall : computer hardware or software that prevents unauthorized access to private data (as on a company's local area network or intranet) by outside computer users (as of the Internet)

Examples of fire wall in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web By next summer, workers are expected to put in new roof coverings, electric cabling and a state-of-the art fire protection system — the old attic had no sprinklers or fire wall. Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2023 In those cases, if high winds fan large flames, could a fire wall race through sections of Greater Cleveland? Olivia Mitchell, cleveland, 18 Aug. 2023 Fire typically wouldn’t thrive in that rocky terrain, so it’s seen as a fire wall. Julie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 Sep. 2021 The blue fire wall is going to be an ash heap in political history. ABC News, 6 Nov. 2022 The chief said the wooden stick-frame construction also likely helped the fire move quickly, but said the fire wall between the homes did its job and likely accounted for the other family being able to escape without injury. Danielle Camilli, USA TODAY, 27 Dec. 2021 Véra stood as the fire wall between Vladimir Nabokov and Humbert Humbert. Stacy Schiff, The New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2021 Your teammate can cast a fire wall to herd opponents into your lightning death tube. Cecilia D'anastasio, Wired, 16 Sep. 2020 According to the February consent decree with the FCC, TeleQuality in 2015 and 2016 offered rural health care providers free routers and fire walls to induce them to select the company as their broadband provider. Patrick Danner, ExpressNews.com, 14 May 2020

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

circa 1666, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fire wall was circa 1666

Dictionary Entries Near fire wall

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

fire wall

noun
1
: a wall for preventing the spread of fire
2
usually firewall : computer hardware or software that limits access by outside users on a network
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