alarm
Americannoun
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alarms
plural
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a sudden fear or distressing suspense caused by an awareness of danger; apprehension; fright.
- Synonyms:
- panic, terror, consternation
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any sound, outcry, or information intended to warn of approaching danger.
Paul Revere raced through the countryside raising the alarm that the British were coming.
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an automatic device that serves to call attention, to rouse from sleep, or to warn of fire, smoke, an intruder, etc.
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a warning sound; signal for attention.
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Animal Behavior. any sound, outcry, chemical discharge, action, or other signal that functions to draw attention to a potential predator.
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Fencing. an appeal or a challenge made by a step or stamp on the ground with the advancing foot.
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Archaic. a call to arms.
verb (used with object)
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alarms,
present (3rd person singular)
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alarmed,
past participle, past
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alarming
present participle
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to make fearful or apprehensive; distress.
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to warn of danger; rouse to vigilance and swift measures for safety.
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to fit or equip with an alarm or alarms, as for fire, smoke, or robbery.
to alarm one's house and garage.
verb
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to fill with apprehension, anxiety, or fear
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to warn about danger; alert
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to fit or activate a burglar alarm on a house, car, etc
noun
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fear or terror aroused by awareness of danger; fright
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apprehension or uneasiness
the idea of failing filled him with alarm
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a noise, signal, etc, warning of danger
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any device that transmits such a warning
a burglar alarm
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the device in an alarm clock that triggers off the bell or buzzer
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short for alarm clock
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archaic a call to arms
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fencing a warning or challenge made by stamping the front foot
Usage
What does alarm mean? Alarm is a sudden feeling of fear or suspense caused by an awareness of danger, as in The pirates boarding the ship filled the captain with alarm. An alarm is any sound or cry that is meant to alert someone. It can also be the device that produces the alarm, such as an alarm clock. Sounding the alarm means to activate a siren, bell, or a repeated verbal call, usually projected from a speaker of some kind. To alarm someone is to make them fearful or distressed, as in My parents alarmed me when they started talking about moving south. To alarm also means to warn someone about danger. Example: Not to alarm you, but I feel like I might need to go to the emergency room.
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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prealarmverb (used with object)
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alarmableadjective
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alarmingadjective
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unalarmedadjective
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alarmedlyadverb
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alarminglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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alarmsimple
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alarmssimple
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have alarmedperfect
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has alarmedperfect
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am alarmingprogressive
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are alarmingprogressive
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is alarmingprogressive
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have been alarmingperfect progressive
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has been alarmingperfect progressive
Past
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alarmedsimple
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had alarmedperfect
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was alarmingprogressive
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were alarmingprogressive
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had been alarmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of alarm
1350–1400; Middle English alarme, alarom < Middle French < Old Italian allarme, noun from phrase all'arme to (the) arms. See arm 2
Explanation
On a clock, the alarm can be set to go off at a certain time to wake nearby sleepers. You should always check the alarm on the clock at a hotel because a previous guest may have it set to go off in the middle of the night. The noun alarm refers to a signal that is meant to rouse, alert, or awaken someone. On April 18, 1775, William Dawes, Paul Revere, and several others rode from Boston to Lexington, Massachusetts to raise the alarm that the British were coming. As a verb, alarm means to be filled with anxiety or apprehension. You may become alarmed if your children become too quiet. Never a good sign — they are probably up to something mischievous.
Vocabulary lists containing alarm
Words inspired by "Inside Out"
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 1
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Yikes! Synonyms for "Scared"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Most anyone born in the 20th century would take one look at her plush retro alarm clock radio and instinctively feel the urge to whack its elongated vinyl “snooze” button.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Reports on Friday that pneumonic plague had killed a 28-year-old woman named Darya Shipilova, who had been working for the anti-plague institute in Siberia's Irkutsk region, sparked alarm.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
The couple's daughter, Cheryl, raised the alarm when her regular daily call to her parents went unanswered that evening.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Tech CEOs privately questioned Amodei for sounding AI alarm bells.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
It seems that alarm clocks stop working when your dog chews the wires while you’re busy trying to get your English assignment done.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
There are the now-traditional scenes in which Carrie learns to consciously control her telekinetic superpowers, previously manifested by accidentally setting off car alarms, opening mailboxes and causing a rain of rocks on her parents’ roof.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
One resident near the intelligence headquarters said the blast was loud enough to trigger car alarms.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
The changes cut the typical number of alarms per patient each day by 75% in the pediatric ICU and by 82% in the cardiac unit, with researchers finding no increase in emergencies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
"It was very loud. It was strong enough to set off car alarms," a resident in a southern area of the city, near the base of the secret service, told BBC Amharic.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
“All the fire alarms were false. Weren’t any real fires.”
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
For now, China generally seems less alarmed by the types of risks U.S. frontier labs are warning about, Winter-Levy said, but that is partly due to Chinese companies running behind.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
Police Chief Jeffrey Long arrived with two officers and, alarmed by the crowd, enlisted three more—bringing the total to six, the report said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Americans appear increasingly alarmed by the technology,with 7 in 10 polled in March opposing local construction of data centers that power AI technology, according to a Gallup survey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Leaving her flat, still alarmed by what she saw, she met a neighbour, a doctor who worked at a nearby hospital, St Vincent's.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
I was eating a steak dinner, my book propped against a sugar shaker, entirely content, when I glanced up to find Katz stalking towards me across the restaurant, looking alarmed and furtive.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
That might seem alarming, but Wald said it isn’t necessarily a cause for concern — at least not right now.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Nancy Slonim Aronie, a writer and artist friend on the Vineyard, had a more alarming experience after she was rushed to a hospital in Boston in January for open heart surgery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
To raise money for the initiative, President Alison Byerly said they had to educate donors about why student-loan debt is alarming to today’s college goers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
"We don't do jump scares, really," said McKellan - although I can think of a few alarming times playing the game I vehemently disagreed with that statement.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Underneath any joking, the reality for Russians was alarming.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
