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alarm

noun
/əˈlɑːm/UK/əˈlɑɹm/US/əˈlɑ(rə)m/

Etymology

From Middle English alarme, alarom, borrowed from Middle French alarme, itself from Old Italian all'arme! (“to arms!, to the weapons!”), ultimately from Latin arma (“arms, weapons”).

  1. derived from arma — “arms, weapons”
  2. derived from alarme
  3. inherited from alarme

Definitions

  1. A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.

    • Arming to answer in a night alarm.

  2. Any sound or information intended to give notice of approaching danger

    Any sound or information intended to give notice of approaching danger; a warning sound to arouse attention; a warning of danger.

    • Sound an alarm in my holy mountain.
    • She went about the house in a state of real terror, and yet lied monstrously and wilfully, and invented many of the alarms she spread, and made many of the sounds we heard.

  3. A device intended to warn or give notice of approaching danger.

    • The fire alarm is located high on the wall to prevent tampering.
  4. ›+ 9 more definitions

    1. A sudden attack

      A sudden attack; a disturbance.

      • Lord Marshal, command our officers-at-arms Be ready to direct these home alarms.
      • Is it then true, as distant rumours run, that crowds of rivals for thy mother's charms thy Palace fill with insults and alarms?

    2. Sudden surprise with fear or terror excited by the apprehension of danger

      Sudden surprise with fear or terror excited by the apprehension of danger; a feeling of heightened alertness to risk; in the military use, commonly, sudden apprehension of being attacked by surprise.

      • Alarm and resentment spread through the camp.

    3. A mechanical device for awaking people, or rousing their attention.

      • The clock radio is a friendlier version of the cold alarm by the bedside.

    4. An instance of an alarm ringing, beeping or clanging, to give a noise signal at a certain…

      An instance of an alarm ringing, beeping or clanging, to give a noise signal at a certain time.

      • You should set the alarm on your watch to go off at seven o'clock.

    5. To call to arms for defense.

    6. To give (someone) notice of approaching danger or necessary action

      To give (someone) notice of approaching danger or necessary action; to rouse to vigilance; to put on the alert.

      • The sudden drop in temperature should alarm you into taking precautions.
      • Her illness started to alarm the doctors, who ordered more tests.

    7. To produce a warning of approaching danger or necessary action

      To produce a warning of approaching danger or necessary action; to emit a signal intended to rouse a recipient to vigilance or put them on the alert.

      • The tower cab supervisor and various pilots stated that the LLWAS system frequently alarms because of the thunderstorm activity present, and that airspeed losses are common as a result of convective wind shear.

    8. To surprise with apprehension of danger

      To surprise with apprehension of danger; to fill with anxiety in regard to threatening evil; to excite with sudden fear.

      • The loud bang in the hallway seemed to alarm everyone in the building.

    9. To keep in excitement

      To keep in excitement; to disturb.

The neighborhood

Derived

alarming

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at alarm. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01alarm02attention03standing04performed05perform06pattern07trouble08distressing09distress

A definitional loop anchored at alarm. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

9 hops · closes at alarm

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA