Definition of "firm"

firm¹

/fɜɹm/

noun
plural firms
1. (UK, business) A business partnership; the name under which it trades.
2. (business, economics) A business enterprise, however organized.
  Quotations
  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”.
  2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71
3. (slang) A criminal gang, especially based around football hooliganism.

firm²

/fɜɹm/

adjective
comparative firmer, superlative firmest
1. Steadfast, secure, solid (in position)
2. Fixed (in opinion).
  Quotations
  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.
  2012 May 9, John Percy, “Birmingham City 2 Blackpool 2 (2-3 on agg): match report”, in the Telegraph‎
3. Insistent upon something, not accepting dissent.
4. Durable, rigid (material state).
5. Mentally resistant to hurt or stress.
  Quotations
  […] 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.
  1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], canto XVIII, page 30
adverb
comparative more firm, superlative most firm
1. (now rare) firmly, steadily

firm³

/fɜɹm/

verb
third-person singular simple present firms, present participle firming, simple past and past participle firmed
1. (transitive) To make firm or strong; fix securely.
2. (transitive) To make compact or resistant to pressure; solidify.
3. (intransitive) To become firm; stabilise.
4. (intransitive) To improve after decline.
5. (intransitive, Australia) To shorten (of betting odds).
6. (transitive, UK, slang) To select (a higher education institution) as one's preferred choice, so as to enrol automatically if one's grades match the conditional offer.