alarm.
A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.
Meaning & usage
A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.
Any sound or information intended to give notice of approaching danger; a warning sound to arouse attention; a warning of danger.
A device intended to warn or give notice of approaching danger.
The fire alarm is located high on the wall to prevent tampering.
A sudden attack; a disturbance.
Sudden surprise with fear or terror caused by the apprehension of danger; a feeling of heightened alertness to risk.
His actions caused alarm among all the other people in the store, who hurried to leave.
A mechanical device for awaking people or rousing their attention.
The clock radio is a friendlier version of the cold alarm by the bedside.
An instance of an alarm ringing, beeping or clanging, to give a noise signal at a certain time.
Last night's alarm turned out to be nothing, but it was terrifying at the time.
Where this word comes from
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”).
To call to arms for defense.
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.
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.
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.
To keep in excitement; to disturb.
Where this word comes from
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”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.