firebreak means an area cleared of all flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading across it.
Etymology
From fire + break. Compare windbreak and breakwater.
noun
- An area cleared of all flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading across it.“The firefighters used a bulldozer to clear a firebreak in the forest to try to contain the forest fire.”
- Any separating barrier.“That policy could consist of a statement that the declaring nation would not be the first to use nuclear weapons. This would strengthen the firebreak between the use of conventional and nuclear weapons.”