alarmer

noun

alarm·​er

ə-ˈlär-mər

: an occurrence (such as a building fire) that triggers a specified number of alarms

—used in combination

It took 2¹/₂ hours to put out the fire, a four-alarmer that drew scores of firefighters from neighboring communities.

—Ron Devlin, Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania), 5 Oct. 2005

Word History

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above

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