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:
If clinicians can spot deterioration earlier, they may be able to intervene before a patient reaches the crisis point that triggers a conventional alarm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Building on earlier work, including a program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Stanford programmed the monitors with time delays and conditional triggers so that some monitor readings didn’t automatically set off an alarm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
For example, a brief drop in a patient’s blood-oxygen reading could be given time to correct itself, while a more serious or sustained drop would trigger an alarm sooner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres raised the alarm on Friday, his spokesman saying Guterres was "particularly troubled by reports of the use of drones as well as incidents of harm to civilians".
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
I threw a look of alarm at Ba.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Between the two units, that meant a total drop to 26,000 alarms from 60,000, says study co-author Dr. Jeffrey K. Yang, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics-cardiology at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
The researchers found no increase in emergencies requiring urgent intervention or transfer to a higher level of care, suggesting that reducing the alarms didn’t compromise patient safety.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Other researchers are applying music and acoustic principles to make alarms less annoying and easier for clinicians to distinguish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
The doctor—who is also a musician—teamed up with McMaster University music-cognition researcher Michael Schutz to apply principles of music and acoustics to medical alarms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
It was much more likely a few kids had nabbed them, to get the alarms going and the doors open.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
Argenta CEO Kelley Barcus was alarmed when she saw the new hires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Taylor admitted his mum was "rather alarmed" by their performance but she admired Freddie's courtesy and style.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 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
The article—by reporters Jonathan Swan, Adam Entous, and Maggie Haberman—adds that those commanders are alarmed by how much the war has depleted U.S. weapons stockpiles, including long-range missiles and interceptors to thwart air attacks.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
Palms stinging, I reeled back, the alarmed voices merging into a dull liquid roar.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
The aim is to provide “actionable and meaningful information” for nurses “so you don’t have a system that’s alarming and people are ignoring it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
She said she had seen him frequently on the university grounds in front of her building and had an alarming encounter when he yelled at her in the street the prior week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
After being shuttled in less than half an hour between aggressive air conditioning, a muggy Chicago street and the temperate library, the cup had begun producing condensation at an alarming rate.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
On Sunday's refereeing error in the Manchester derby, Andrews said it was "pretty alarming" Haaland's goal was allowed to stand.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
She gave a rattling cough, which Clare found alarming, since he hadn’t known birds capable of coughing.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
