fire brigade

/ˈfaɪə(ɹ)bɹɪˌɡeɪd/

//ˈfaɪə(ɹ)bɹɪˌɡeɪd// noun

"fire-brigade" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fire brigade” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A group of people within a corporation or industrial site, organized for the purpose of extinguishing fires, usually in addition to their normal job.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fire-brigade · fire brigade · English

fire brigade · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for fire brigade
PropertyValue
Headwordfire brigade
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfaɪə(ɹ)bɹɪˌɡeɪd/
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “fire brigade” in English

fire brigadesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

fire brigade is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfaɪə(ɹ)bɹɪˌɡeɪd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for fire brigade in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is fire brigade, spelled F-I-R-E- -B-R-I-G-A-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A group of people within a corporation or industrial site, organized for the purpose of extinguishing fires, usually in addition to their normal job.
  2. 2
    An organization, often part of a local government, whose purpose is preventing and putting out fires.
  3. 3
    A trained unit that can be rapidly deployed to deal with any difficult situation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how fire brigade appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. General Westmoreland used some incoming troops as a fire brigade to squelch major threats and keep the Communists off balance.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fire brigade"?
"fire brigade" is spelled F-I-R-E- -B-R-I-G-A-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfaɪə(ɹ)bɹɪˌɡeɪd/.
What does "fire brigade" mean?
As a noun, "fire brigade" means: A group of people within a corporation or industrial site, organized for the purpose of extinguishing fires, usually in addition to their normal job.
How do you pronounce "fire brigade"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fire brigade" is /ˈfaɪə(ɹ)bɹɪˌɡeɪd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "fire brigade" come from?
"fire brigade" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list