Get fired means to be dismissed from your job. It's most often used when someone loses their job because of their behaviour or poor work: lateness, mistakes, breaking rules. It's conversational; in a formal letter it's replaced by was dismissed.
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get fired (from + job/company); get fired for + noun/-ing; got fired (past)
- He got fired from the café for being late three times in one week.
- If you keep posting client data online, you could get fired.
- She got fired for missing an important meeting without telling anyone.
What changed
First versionHe fired from his job because he was always late.
RevisionHe got fired from his job because he was always late.
He fired from his job reads as if he fired someone himself, without saying who. It's tempting to treat fired like left or quit, as if it described something he did. But fire is always the boss's action. To say someone lost their job, use got fired or was fired.
If you lose your job because of cuts and it isn't your fault, say get laid off, or in Britain be made redundant: Half the team got laid off when the project was cancelled. Saying I got fired in that situation means taking the blame without meaning to.
Your turn
Tom was late every day for a month, so he ___.
Show the answer
got fired — Tom's boss fired him; Tom didn't fire anyone, so got fired. Fired without an object leaves the sentence hanging: we don't know whom he fired.
Tell the story of someone who got fired. Say where they worked and why they lost the job.
My cousin got fired from a hotel in Sochi because he kept falling asleep during night shifts.
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