firing

firing — noun

1. the act of telling someone that they can no longer work for you, usually because

1.nounB1
Definition

the act of telling someone that they can no longer work for you, usually because their work has not been good enough or because they have broken important rules.

Example

After the budget cuts, the company announced the firing of over two hundred staff members.

firing + of + group of people

Eitan received a formal letter about his firing just before the holiday break.

Common collocations
  • unfair firing
  • wrongful firing
  • mass firing
  • constructive dismissal
Synonyms
  • dismissal

    more formal; used in official documents and legal contexts

  • sacking

    informal, chiefly British English

  • layoff

    often temporary or due to business reasons rather than poor performance

  • termination

    very formal; used in employment contracts and legal language

Antonyms
  • hiring

    the act of bringing someone into a job

  • recruitment

    the process of finding and selecting new employees

Grammar Patterns

firing + of + person

adjective + firing

a firing

Usage Note

Often paired with adjectives such as unfair, wrongful, or constructive. In many everyday situations, the verb fire is more natural than the noun firing.

Common Mistakes

She got a firing from the company after only one week.
She was fired from the company after only one week.
The verb form 'fire' is preferred in most everyday speech; the noun 'firing' sounds more formal or journalistic.

2. a situation in which someone speaks to another person in a very angry way becaus

2.nounB2
Definition

a situation in which someone speaks to another person in a very angry way because they are unhappy with something that person has said or done.

Example

The project director gave Ziad a severe firing after he missed the deadline.

give + someone + a firing

Ingrid's mother gave her a real firing when she found out about the broken window.

Common collocations
  • give someone a firing
  • get a firing
  • a severe firing
  • a real firing
Synonyms
  • scolding

    more general and slightly less intense; can be used with children

  • telling-off

    informal, chiefly British English

  • dressing-down

    informal; implies a thorough, serious scolding

Antonyms
  • praise

    expression of approval or admiration

  • compliment

    a polite expression of praise

Grammar Patterns

give + someone + a firing

get + a firing + from + someone

Usage Note

Typically used in the pattern 'give someone a firing' or 'get a firing.' This sense is informal and most common in British English; it is less frequent in American English.

Common Mistakes

The teacher gave the students a firing about their homework.
The teacher gave the students a lecture about their homework.
'Firing' in this sense sounds unnatural in classroom situations; it is more common in family, sports, or workplace settings.

3. the act of shooting a gun, or the sound that happens when a gun is shot.

3.nounB2
Definition

the act of shooting a gun, or the sound that happens when a gun is shot.

Example

The soldiers could hear the sound of distant firing from across the valley.

Firing from the training range continued until late in the afternoon.

Common collocations
  • heavy firing
  • distant firing
  • accidental firing
  • friendly fire
Synonyms
  • gunfire

    more common and clearer when referring to the sound of guns being shot

  • shooting

    more general; can also refer to hunting or target practice

  • discharge

    formal; often used in official reports and legal contexts

Grammar Patterns

firing + of + weapon

sound of firing

heavy / distant / accidental firing

Usage Note

Common in military and news reporting contexts. The word can describe both the action of shooting and the resulting sound. When the meaning is unclear, gunfire is a useful alternative.

Common Mistakes

The firing in the kitchen was caused by a gas leak.
The fire in the kitchen was caused by a gas leak.
'Firing' refers to shooting a gun, not to a destructive fire; use 'fire' for that meaning.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to the end of a person's employment, but they differ in formality, region, and reason. 'Dismissal' is the most formal and is used in official letters and legal documents; it implies the employer ended the job. 'Sacking' is informal and strongly British — you would hear it in a pub conversation but rarely in a contract. 'Layoff' suggests the reason is business-related (budget cuts, restructuring) rather than poor performance, and it often implies the employee may be rehired later. 'Termination' is the most clinical and legal term, common in employment contracts regardless of the reason. For example: 'The union challenged the dismissal of three workers' (formal, legal). 'He got the sack for stealing from the till' (British, informal). 'The factory announced two hundred layoffs due to falling demand' (business reason, possibly temporary). 'Either party can end the agreement by written notice of termination' (contract language).

dismissal ↗sackinglayofftermination

Common collocations

Adverbs

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

The noun 'firing' comes from the verb 'fire', which entered English from Old English 'fȳrian' (to supply with fire or to kindle). The sense of 'discharging a gun' dates from the 1500s, when guns were fired by lighting gunpowder. The meaning 'to dismiss someone from a job' appeared in American English around the 1880s — it may come from the image of 'shooting someone out' of their position like a bullet from a gun. The noun 'firing' followed from each of these verb senses.