"firing" in the noun sense
1. fire, firing
the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy
"hold your fire until you can see the whites of their eyes"
"they retreated in the face of withering enemy fire"
2. discharge, firing, firing off
the act of discharging a gun
3. ignition, firing, lighting, kindling, inflammation
the act of setting something on fire
4. dismissal, dismission, discharge, firing, liberation, release, sack, sacking
the termination of someone's employment (leaving them free to depart)
"firing" in the verb sense
1. open fire, fire
start firing a weapon
2. fire, discharge
cause to go off
"fire a gun"
"fire a bullet"
3. fire
bake in a kiln so as to harden
"fire pottery"
4. displace, fire, give notice, can, dismiss, give the axe, send away, sack, force out, give the sack, terminate
terminate the employment of discharge from an office or position
"The boss fired his secretary today"
"The company terminated 25% of its workers"
5. fire, discharge, go off
go off or discharge
"The gun fired"
6. fire
drive out or away by or as if by fire
"The soldiers were fired"
"Surrender fires the cold skepticism"
7. arouse, elicit, enkindle, kindle, evoke, fire, raise, provoke
call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses
"arouse pity"
"raise a smile"
"evoke sympathy"
8. burn, fire, burn down
destroy by fire
"They burned the house and his diaries"
9. fuel, fire
provide with fuel
"Oil fires the furnace"
10. fire
generate an electrical impulse
"the neurons fired fast"
11. fire, flame up
become ignited
"The furnace wouldn't fire"
12. fire, light, ignite
start or maintain a fire in
"fire the furnace"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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