Definitions for alarm
əˈlɑrmalarm

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. alarm, dismay, consternationnoun

   fear resulting from the awareness of danger

2. alarm, warning device, alarm systemnoun

   a device that signals the occurrence of some undesirable event

3. alarm, alert, warning signal, alarumnoun

   an automatic signal (usually a sound) warning of danger

4. alarm clock, alarmverb

   a clock that wakes a sleeper at some preset time

5. dismay, alarm, appal, appall, horrifyverb

   fill with apprehension or alarm; cause to be unpleasantly surprised

   "I was horrified at the thought of being late for my interview"; "The news of the executions horrified us"

6. alarm, alertverb

   warn or arouse to a sense of danger or call to a state of preparedness

   "The empty house alarmed him"; "We alerted the new neighbors to the high rate of burglaries"

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. alarmnoun

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

   Arming to answer in a night alarm. --Shakespeare.

2. alarmnoun

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

3. alarmnoun

   Sudden surprise with fear or terror excited by apprehension of danger; in the military use, commonly, sudden apprehension of being attacked by surprise.

   Alarm and resentment spread throughout the camp. --Thomas Babington Macaulay.

4. alarmnoun

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

   The clockradio is a friendlier version of the cold alarm by the bedside

5. alarmnoun

   An instance of an alarum ringing 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.

6. alarmverb

   To call to arms for defense

7. alarmverb

   To give (someone) notice of approaching danger

8. alarmverb

   To rouse to vigilance and action; to put on the alert.

9. alarmverb

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

10. alarmverb

    To keep in excitement; to disturb.

11. Etymology: From alarme, alarom, from alarme, itself from Old, ultimately from arma.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Alarmnoun

   a summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy

2. Alarmnoun

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

3. Alarmnoun

   a sudden attack; disturbance; broil

4. Alarmnoun

   sudden surprise with fear or terror excited by apprehension of danger; in the military use, commonly, sudden apprehension of being attacked by surprise

5. Alarmnoun

   a mechanical contrivance for awaking persons from sleep, or rousing their attention; an alarum

6. Alarmverb

   to call to arms for defense; to give notice to (any one) of approaching danger; to rouse to vigilance and action; to put on the alert

7. Alarmverb

   to keep in excitement; to disturb

8. Alarmverb

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

9. Etymology: [Alarm, n. Cf. F. alarmer.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Alarm

   a-lärm′, n. notice of danger: sudden surprise with fear: a mechanical contrivance to arouse from sleep: a call to arms.—v.t. to call to arms: to give notice of danger: to fill with dread.—adv. Alarm′ingly.—n. Alarm′ist, one who excites alarm: one given to prophesy danger.—adj. alarming. [Fr. alarme—It. all' arme, to arms—L. ad, to, arma, arms.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. alarm

   [from the Italian all'armi!] An apprehension from sudden noise or report. The drum or signal by which men are summoned to stand on their guard in time of danger.--False alarm is sometimes occasioned by a timid or negligent sentry, and at others designedly by an officer, to ascertain the promptness of his men. Sometimes false alarms are given by the enemy to harass the adversary. Old Rider defines alarm as a "watch-word shewing the neernesse of the enemies."

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. alarm

   A sudden apprehension of being attacked by surprise, or the notice of such attack being actually made. It is generally signified by the discharge of fire-arms, the beat of a drum, etc.

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. alarm

   The alarm symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the alarm symbol and its characteristic.

Matched Categories

1. • Device
   • Signal
   • Warn

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'alarm' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4539

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'alarm' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3148

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'alarm' in Nouns Frequency: #1591

Anagrams for alarm »

1. malar, Marla, marla, ramal

How to pronounce alarm?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say alarm in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of alarm in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of alarm in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of alarm in a Sentence

1. Leonidas Constantinidis:

   Where I was I did not hear any siren, any alarm. Nothing seemed to work, the fire sprinklers, the fire extinguishers, nothing was working, they let the ferry go up in flames with all the people still onboard.

2. James Madison:

   We are right to take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties.

3. Jason Chaffetz:

   Our initial review of the allegations has caused alarm and distress over their serious nature, the Utah Attorney General recently made the committee aware of credible evidence of misconduct by a U.S. District Court Judge.

4. Jeff Streznetcky:

   I'm not expecting any showstoppers that would cause me any alarm.

5. Pedro Pierluisi:

   There is no reason for alarm, and the public should continue to take common sense steps to avoid mosquito bites, like using repellent and wearing long pants and shirts.

Popularity rank by frequency of use