noun, adjective, adverb, verb
noun a business or company:
an engineering firm * a firm of accountants
adjective (firmer, firmest)
1 fairly hard; not easy to press into a different shape:
a firm bed / mattress * These peaches are still firm. * It was good to feel the firm ground underfoot after hours of trudging through flooded fields. * Bake the cakes until they are firm to the touch.
2 not likely to change:
a firm believer in socialism * a firm agreement / date / decision / offer / promise * firm beliefs / conclusions / convictions / principles * She is a firm favourite with the children. * We have no firm evidence to support the case. * They remained firm friends.
3 strongly fixed in place
SYNSECURE:
Stand the fish tank on a firm base. * No building can stand without firm foundations, and neither can a marriage.
4 (of sb's voice or hand movements) strong and steady:
'No,' she repeated, her voice firmer this time. * With a firm grip on my hand, he pulled me away. * She took a firm hold of my arm. * Her handshake was cool and firm.
5 (of sb's behaviour, position or understanding of sth) strong and in control:
to exercise firm control / discipline / leadership * Parents must be firm with their children. * The company now has a firm footing in the marketplace. * This book will give your students a firm grasp of English grammar. * We need to keep a firm grip on the situation.
6 [usuallybeforenoun] ~ (against sth) (of a country's money, etc.) not lower than another:
The pound remained firm against the dollar, but fell against the yen.
seealsoFIRMLY
firmness noun [U]
IDIOMS
be on firm ground to be in a strong position in an argument, etc. because you know the facts:
Everyone agreed with me, so I knew I was on firm ground.
a firm hand strong control or discipline:
Those children need a firm hand to make them behave.
take a firm line / stand (on / against sth) to make your beliefs known and to try to make others follow them:
We need to take a firm line on tobacco advertising. * They took a firm stand against drugs in the school.
Part of speech: adverb
IDIOMS
hold firm (to sth) (formal) to believe sth strongly and not change your mind:
She held firm to her principles.
stand fast / firm to refuse to move back; to refuse to change your opinions
Part of speech: verb
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About this entry
This is a English–English dictionary entry.
Sourced from Main Dictionary in Lughet's collection.
This word also appears under other sources in Lughet's collection — see the list below.
This entry for firm is sourced from Main Dictionary, one of the dictionaries and corpora merged into Lughet.
Is firm a noun, verb, or something else?
In this entry, firm is tagged as adverb.
Does firm appear elsewhere on Lughet?
Yes — firm appears under other sources or language pairs in Lughet's collection. See the list below.
What is Lughet?
Lughet is a free trilingual dictionary covering nearly five million entries across Uyghur, Chinese, and English, drawn from more than ten source dictionaries and corpora.
1 [VN] to make sth become stronger or harder:
Firm the soil around the plant. * This product claims to firm your body in six weeks.
2 [V] ~ (to / at...) (finance) (of shares, prices, etc.) to become steady or rise steadily:
Rank's shares firmed 3p to 696p.
PHRASALVERBS
firm up to become harder or more solid:
Put the mixture somewhere cool to firm up.
firm up sth
1 to make arrangements more final and fixed:
The company has not yet firmed up its plans for expansion. * The precise details still have to be firmed up.
2 to make sth harder or more solid:
A few weeks of aerobics will firm up that flabby stomach.
