firm

noun

1. (UK)A business partnership; the name under which it trades.
2. A business enterprise, however organized.

   “Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms.[…]Banks and credit-card firms are kept out of the picture. Talk to enough people in the field and someone is bound to mention the “democratisation of finance”.”

3. (slang)A criminal gang, especially based around football hooliganism.

adj

1. Steadfast, secure, solid (in position)

   “It's good to have a firm grip when shaking hands.”

2. Fixed (in opinion).

   “a firm believer; a firm friend; a firm adherent”

   “firm favourites”

   “With such constant off-field turmoil Hughton’s work has been remarkable and this may have been his last game in charge. West Bromwich Albion, searching for a replacement for Roy Hodgson, are firm admirers.”

3. Insistent upon something, not accepting dissent.

   “He wanted to stay overnight, but I was firm with him and said he had to leave today.”

4. Durable, rigid (material state).

   “firm flesh; firm muscles, firm wood; firm land (i.e. not soft and marshy)”

   “Biblical criteria of sexual seductiveness include a white skin, black hair, or henna-dyed, scarlet lips, a prominent nose, rosy temples, long straight neck, firm breasts, round thighs, an erect posture.”

5. Mentally resistant to hurt or stress.

   “[…] The life that almost dies in me: That dies not, but endures with pain, ⁠And slowly forms the firmer mind, ⁠Treasuring the look it cannot find, The words that are not heard again.”

6. Not frivolous or fallacious; trustworthy; solid; dependable.

   “Although facilitators of the workshop for lesbians and bisexual women attempted to address the concerns of lesbians, little firm information emerged.”

   “None of the Aramaic inscriptions from the Hellenistic and Roman period that are cited in support of this hypothesis that divine messengers are identified with their sender provide any firm proof to this respect.”

adv

1. (archaic)firmly, steadily

verb

1. (transitive)To make firm or strong; fix securely.

   “Stolz said the move by ClubsNSW had only firmed his resolve to keep fighting for the right to disclose information in the public interest about money laundering in registered clubs.”

2. (transitive)To make compact or resistant to pressure; solidify.
3. (intransitive)To become firm; stabilise.
4. (intransitive)To improve after decline.
5. (Australia, intransitive)To shorten (of betting odds).
6. (colloquial, transitive)To grit one's teeth and bear; to push through something unpleasant.

   “I know you aren't feeling well, but just firm it.”

7. (UK, slang, transitive)To select (a higher education institution) as one's preferred choice, so as to enrol automatically if one's grades match the conditional offer.