firebase

[ fahyuhr-beys ]

noun

, Military.

1. an artillery base, bases, especially one set up quickly to support advancing troops or to forestall enemy advances.

firebase

/ ˈfaɪəˌbeɪs /

noun

1. an artillery base supporting advancing troops

Word History and Origins

Origin of firebase¹

First recorded in 1965–70; fire + base ¹

Example Sentences

In 1970, it was decided — “by vainglorious minds, smaller than mine,” Tim wrote — to reopen a long abandoned Marine firebase in the heart of the A Shau Valley, near the border with Laos.

From Washington Post

The choppers often touched down in firebases, where the soldiers were isolated and weary.

From Washington Post

An end, even if long overdue and perhaps contrived, can still have real power, said Thomas Burke, who was 20 and a lance corporal at a firebase in a small Afghan village in 2009.

From New York Times

I had gotten the job after my predecessor, Capt. Milt Freeman, and 50 of his men were killed or seriously wounded on a neighboring firebase.

From Washington Post

In June of last year, an Afghan special operations forces commando opened fire on American troops, killing three and wounding one, at a firebase in the Achin district of Nangahar province.

From Washington Post