1
: using a specified fuel
usually used in combination
an oil-fired power plant
a wood-fired pizza oven
2
: having been processed by heating in a kiln
fired and handpainted stoneware
The body is more like cement than clay, but useful in achieving the surfaces I seek, and the fired clay is remarkably lightweight and strong.Ceramics Monthly
3
: dismissed from a job
You're fired!
They said Metro has failed to provide the fired employees and the union with a detailed explanation of the allegations.Fredrick Kunkle

Examples of fired in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web That the fired ex-chief was presented alongside a former finalist for the job who is currently on administrative leave in San Leandro and an assistant chief in faraway Tucson, Arizona, has left some observers wondering if the list was even intended to be serious. Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 3 Jan. 2024 In duck-hunting terms, that means getting new waders and a new shotgun, repairing a gun that won’t eject a fired shell, patching or replacing decoys that don’t float, and getting the boat’s motor serviced. Steve Waters, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 Things take a turn for Hwang with the death of a fired colleague, and after being unceremoniously fired from her job herself, Hwang and Oh find that the notorious firm is fielding a candidate for the Seoul mayoral elections. TIME, 27 Dec. 2023 Relatives wailed and collapsed in grief over the small coffins of children Friday after a fired police officer stormed a rural Thai day care center at naptime and massacred dozens of people. Ap, Bloomberg.com, 7 Oct. 2022 The union is a group that formed in 2006 to represent fired and unemployed workers, and then expanded to include people in industrial and service jobs, in defiance of Iran’s ban on independent unions. Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2022 But the real innovation was the addition of a small tube to redirect the gas from fired cartridges. Todd C. Frankel, Shawn Boburg, Josh Dawsey, Ashley Parker and Alex Horton, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Mar. 2023 In 2019, McDonald’s fired Chief Executive Stephen Easterbrook because of a consensual relationship with an employee, which violated company policy. Richard Vanderford, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023 The three fired fire department employees have appealed their firings. Lucas Finton, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2023

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

1807, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of fired was in 1807

Dictionary Entries Near fired

Cite this Entry

“Fired.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fired. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fired

adjective
: using a specified fuel
an oil-fired furnace

More from Merriam-Webster on fired

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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