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

Etymology

Origin of alarm clock

First recorded in 1690–1700

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

“And he said, ‘Waking up, not to an alarm clock, and not having to go in and cook bacon and just being able to have a cup of coffee at home and cook for myself.’”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

But the wind-up alarm clock won’t disappear entirely, says Bill Stoddard, who repairs and sells clocks at his shop in Flora, Ind. After all, he points out, “the Amish people buy clocks.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

She was joined on the red sofa by her husband Steve, who joked that the "the first thing to go" in their new lives going forward would be the "the alarm clock".

From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2026

I went back up to the cave, got my alarm clock and calendar, a lamp, this notebook, and some other things, and came back to the house.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien

Related Words

• clock radio