alarm clock

American  

noun

• alarm clocks
  plural

1. a clock with a bell or buzzer that can be set to sound at a particular time, as to awaken someone.

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alarm clock British  

noun

1. a clock with a mechanism that sounds at a set time: used esp for waking a person up

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• alarm clocks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of alarm clock

First recorded in 1690–1700

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alarm clock

Leave your phone downstairs: "Use something else as an alarm clock," suggested Neil.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

Klugo’s Bluetooth alarm clock isn’t portable, and the hotel alarms ring too softly for him to hear.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

Not necessarily, I suspect, due to the near-extinction of the alarm clock.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

His alarm clock, a big and bulky machine that’s Bluetooth-connected to the house’s fire alarm, rattles his room until he finally shuts it off.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

I stay up so late that I always sleep past the alarm clock and miss the bus.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

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Related Words

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