firm
1 Americanadjective
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not soft or yielding when pressed; comparatively solid, hard, stiff, or rigid.
firm ground;
firm texture.
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securely fixed in place.
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not shaking or trembling; steady.
a firm voice.
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not likely to change; fixed; settled; unalterable.
a firm belief.
- Synonyms:
- confirmed
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steadfast or unwavering, as persons or principles.
firm friends.
- Synonyms:
- reliable, staunch, immovable, determined
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indicating firmness or determination.
a firm expression.
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not fluctuating much or falling, as prices, values, etc..
The stock market was firm today.
verb (used with object)
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to make firm; tighten or strengthen (sometimes followed byup ).
to firm up one's hold on something.
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to steady or fix (sometimes followed byup ).
to firm up prices.
verb (used without object)
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to become firm or fixed (sometimes followed byup ).
Butter firms by churning.
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(of prices, markets, etc.) to recover; become stronger, as after a decline (sometimes followed byup ).
Stock prices firmed again today.
adverb
adjective
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not soft or yielding to a touch or pressure; rigid; solid
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securely in position; stable or stationary
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definitely established; decided; settled
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enduring or steady; constant
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having determination or strength; resolute
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(of prices, markets, etc) tending to rise
adverb
verb
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(sometimes foll by up) to make or become firm
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(intr) horse racing (of a horse) to shorten in odds
noun
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a business partnership
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any commercial enterprise
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a team of doctors and their assistants
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slang
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a gang of criminals
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a gang of football hooligans
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Related Words
Firm, hard, solid, stiff are applied to substances that tend to retain their form unaltered in spite of pressure or force. Firm often implies that something has been brought from a yielding state to a fixed or elastic one: An increased amount of pectin makes jellies firm. Hard is applied to substances so resistant that it is difficult to make any impression upon their surface or to penetrate their interior: as hard as a stone. Solid is applied to substances that without external support retain their form and resist pressure: Water in the form of ice is solid. It sometimes denotes the opposite of hollow: a solid block of marble. Stiff implies rigidity that resists a bending force: as stiff as a poker.
Other Word Forms
- firmly adverb
- firmness noun
Etymology
Origin of firm1
First recorded in 1300–50; from Latin firmus; replacing Middle English ferm(e), from Middle French ferm(e), from Latin
Origin of firm2
First recorded in 1565–75; from Spanish firma “signature” (hence, legal name of a partnership), noun derivative of firmar “to sign,” from Latin firmāre “to strengthen, confirm,” derivative of firmus firm 1
Explanation
The adjective firm describes something that's strong and unwavering. If your great Aunt Martha had a firm belief that children should be seen and not heard, you and your siblings might have spent your childhood driving her crazy. Something that is solid can also be described as firm. When you take a stick of butter out of the fridge, it's firm, and it needs to soften before you cream it with sugar. Another definition for the adjective firm is unwavering or loyal. You might be a firm supporter of your favorite baseball team, even though they haven't made it to a World Series in more than twenty years.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The private-markets firm swung to a loss of $1.45 million from a profit of $25.4 million a year earlier, driven by a loss in capital allocation-based income.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
When he left the firm, Johnson associated with the founders of Boston’s MFS Investment Management, which created the first mutual fund in 1924, and George Putnam, founder of Putnam Investments.
From Barron's • May 1, 2026
She faces Republican Herb Morgan, a onetime chief investment officer at financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, and Meghann Adams, a Peace and Freedom Party member, who is a school bus driver and union leader.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
The latter group took control of the firm in the 1970s with Nick Thorndike as chairman.
From Barron's • May 1, 2026
To do the sort of trades they wanted to do, they needed to be mistaken by the big Wall Street firms for investors who knew their way around a big Wall Street firm.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
