fire escape
51
2.7
- noun
- /ˈfaɪər ɪˈskeɪp/
:
escalera de incendios
- In case of an emergency, use the fire escape to exit the building safely.
- climb the fire escape
- go down the fire escape
- run to the fire escape
But you got to climb up the, the, the the fire escape.
- But you got to climb up the, the, the the fire escape.
- I met eyes with a man right outside my window on the fire escape that had this huge piece of like wood bashing into my window.
Examples
-
David scrambles down the fire escape, drops to the alley, and runs to catch up.
Fiction book (1992) -
And now he's bursting from the building onto a short fire escape, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Fiction book (1991) -
Could you leave the fire escape window open?
-
Then, why did we have to take the fire escape up here yesterday?
-
And l saved your life on the fire escape.
-
There was no one else on that fire escape.
-
We use the back fire escape to get to the roof.
-
Hey, remember when we did that drill down the fire escape?
-
Hey, what are you fellows doing on the fire escape?
-
Trudy finished the dishes and slipped out onto the fire escape to wait for the first welcome raindrop.
Fiction book (1992)
Synonyms
∞
2.0
An exit like a door that you use to leave a place
363
1.0
An opening or way that lets people leave a place
100
1.0
A set of steps inside a building that people use to move between floors
54
1.0
A set of steps that people use to go between floors in a building
41
1.6
A set of steps between two floors of a building
17
2.6
A special door or stairway that lets people leave a building quickly in an emergency
8
8.1
A way to leave a building or room
4
4.1
A small door in a vehicle or building that lets people get out quickly in an emergency
A set of stairs outside a building
How Safe
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a structure for escaping in case of fire' is directly and transparently derivable from combining 'fire' (the hazard) with 'escape' (an act or means of getting away). This noun-noun compounding pattern indicating purpose or cause is common across languages and follows regular English composition, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
Fire escape comes from the simple picture of metal stairs on the outside of a building that people use when a fire starts. Because it is literally a way to escape from fire, the term means 'a way to get away in a fire'.