firm.
A business partnership; the name under which it trades.
Meaning & usage
A business partnership; the name under which it trades.
A business enterprise, however organized.
A criminal gang, especially based around football hooliganism.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Latin firmoder. Italian firmarebf. Italian firmabor. English firm From Italian firma (“signature”), from firmare (“to sign”), from Latin firmāre (“to make firm, to confirm (by signature)”), from firmus (“firm, stable”). The contemporary sense developed in the 18th century simultaneously with German Firma (“business, name of business”). There are conflicting statements in the literature as to which of the two languages influenced which. Doublet of dharma and dhamma. Other cognates include Russian держать (deržatʹ, “to hold”).
Steadfast, secure, solid (in position)
It's good to have a firm grip when shaking hands.
Fixed (in opinion).
a firm believer; a firm friend; a firm adherent
firm favourites
Insistent upon something, not accepting dissent.
He wanted to stay overnight, but I was firm with him and said he had to leave today.
Durable, rigid (material state).
firm flesh; firm muscles, firm wood; firm land (i.e. not soft and marshy)
Mentally resistant to hurt or stress.
Not frivolous or fallacious; trustworthy; solid; dependable.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Medieval Latin firma Medieval Latin fermader. Old French fermebor. Middle English ferme English firm Inherited from Middle English ferme, borrowed from Old French ferme, from Medieval Latin ferma. From Middle English ferme, from Old French ferme, from Latin firmus (“strong, steady”). Doublet of dharma.
firmly, steadily
stand firm
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Medieval Latin firma Medieval Latin fermader. Old French fermebor. Middle English ferme English firm Inherited from Middle English ferme, borrowed from Old French ferme, from Medieval Latin ferma. From Middle English ferme, from Old French ferme, from Latin firmus (“strong, steady”). Doublet of dharma.
To make firm or strong; fix securely.
To make compact or resistant to pressure; solidify.
To become firm; stabilise.
To improve after decline.
To shorten (of betting odds).
To grit one's teeth and bear; to push through something unpleasant.
I know you aren't feeling well, but just firm it.
To select (a higher education institution) as one's preferred choice, so as to enrol automatically if one's grades match the conditional offer.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English fermen (“to make firm”), partly from (either through Old French fermer or directly) Latin firmō, from firmus (“firm”, adjective), and partly a new formation on the adjective.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.