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fire tower

fire tower

1 5.4
A tall tower in a forest where a person looks for smoke to find fires
  • noun
  • /ˈfaɪər ˈtaʊər/
translation icon : torre de vigilancia
  • From the top of the fire tower, we had a breathtaking view of the entire forest.
  • an old fire tower

Examples

  • Kate thought about her mother inside and that she was making supper for them, and also for Jeff Driver, who would be coming from his job in the fire tower.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • We spent the night with the pack, both of us chilled by the mountain winds despite our thermal blankets, but reluctant to move into the fire tower; the dogs balked at entering, and Kara and I wanted to spend every minute we had with them.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • So are you saying that was the same fire tower from earlier?

  • In the old fire tower!

  • You go to the fire tower and set up the trap.

  • I had this fire tower in Georgia.

  • To the east, the rime-covered fire tower on Kingdom Mountain disappeared.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • They told Johnny they found a bag of toys and that he should meet them at the old fire tower.

  • The turret shape of an old fire tower poked above the trees.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • "There's an old fire tower three-quarters of the way up that mountain.

    Fiction book (1997)

Synonyms

tower
vsfire tower
547 1.0

A tall, narrow thing that looks like a building

is built mainly for fire observation in forests rather than general structure
lookout
vsfire tower
24 3.4

A high place where you can see far across the land

is used specifically to monitor for fires in forest or wilderness areas
watchtower
vsfire tower
11 4.3

A tall building where guards look over a wide area for danger

is aimed at spotting fires in remote natural areas rather than guarding
observation tower
vsfire tower
1 4.2

A tall building that lets you see far across the land or sea for sightseeing

is focused on watching for forest fires rather than general sightseeing

Surface Forms

fire tower singular
fire towers plural

Morphology

fire + tower

The meaning of 'fire tower' is directly and compositionally derived from 'fire' (what is being watched for) + 'tower' (a tall observation structure), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a tower used to watch for fires. This noun–noun compounding pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, making the phrase predictable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Fire tower comes from the simple picture of a tall tower where a person watched for fire in the trees. That's why it means 'a tall building where someone looks for signs of fire'.