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

Deep in a bunker, a device resembling an alarm clock sits on the desk of Maj.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

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

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 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

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

It happened again in mid-May, despite the alarm clock I borrowed from O’Dell.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Related Words

• clock radio