free-fire zone

noun

: a combat area in which any moving thing is a legitimate target

Examples of free-fire zone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The family’s village was in a free-fire zone, and in 1968 it was wiped off the map. George Black, The New Republic, 19 Dec. 2022 Many, perhaps most, in Medellin revile him as a homicidal fanatic who turned the town into a free-fire zone. Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2022 The main highway from Lysychansk to Bakhmut, a city in Donetsk province about 30 miles to the southwest, was already a Russian free-fire zone a month ago, forcing residents and resupply convoys to take a back-country path to the area. Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2022 In 1969, Tom Lacombe was an infantryman in Vietnam, working in a free-fire zone of the Central Highlands, south of An Khe. Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2021 The 46th president is lobbing a hand grenade of boring competence into a political free-fire zone. Arkansas Online, 7 Dec. 2020 The clash between the heavily armed fighters and the security police turned the city into a free-fire zone, with residents cowering in cars and supermarkets. Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY, 18 Oct. 2019 It’s estimated that there were about 1 million to 2 million civilians killed in the war, according to the AP, and many of them were victims of free-fire zones. Christianna Silva, Teen Vogue, 16 Mar. 2018 The Committee was happy to see Top Commenter Charlie James bringing us some heartland wisdom concerning hunting in his comments about the free-fire zone that the Department of the Interior is creating in our national parks. Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 25 Aug. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'free-fire zone.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of free-fire zone was in 1965

Dictionary Entries Near free-fire zone

Cite this Entry

“Free-fire zone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free-fire%20zone. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

free-fire zone

noun
: a combat area in which any moving thing is considered a target
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!