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• arm
  arm

  noun

  the upper limb of the human body, especially the part extending from the shoulder to the wrist.
• Arm
  Arm

  abbreviation

  Armenian.
• ARM
  ARM

  adjustable-rate mortgage.
• Arm.
  Arm.

  abbreviation

  Armenian.

arm

¹ American  

[ahrm] / ɑrm /

noun

1. the upper limb of the human body, especially the part extending from the shoulder to the wrist.

2. the upper limb from the shoulder to the elbow.

3. the forelimb of any vertebrate.

4. some part of an organism like or likened to an arm.

5. any armlike part or attachment, as the tone arm of a phonograph.

6. a covering for the arm, especially a sleeve of a garment.

   the arm of a coat.

7. an administrative or operational branch of an organization.

   A special arm of the government will investigate.

8. Nautical. any of the curved or bent pieces of an anchor, terminating in the flukes.

9. an armrest.

10. an inlet or cove.

    an arm of the sea.

11. a combat branch of the military service, as the infantry, cavalry, or field artillery.

12. power; might; strength; authority.

    the long arm of the law.

    Synonyms:

    reach

13. support or protection.

    He had always been there when I needed a strong arm to lean on or a word of counsel.

    May you take comfort knowing she is in God's loving arms.

14. Typography. either of the extensions to the right of the vertical line of a K or upward from the vertical stem of a Y.

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idioms

1. at arm's length, not on familiar or friendly terms; at a distance.

   He's the kind of person you pity but want to keep at arm's length.

2. twist someone's arm, to use force or coercion on someone.

3. with open arms, cordially; with warm hospitality.

   a country that receives immigrants with open arms.

4. arm in arm, with arms linked together or intertwined.

   They walked along arm in arm.

5. put the arm on,

   1. to solicit or borrow money from.

      She put the arm on me for a generous contribution.

   2. to use force or violence on; use strong-arm tactics on.

      If they don't cooperate, put the arm on them.

6. on the arm, free of charge; gratis.

   an investigation of policemen who ate lunch on the arm.

7. an arm and a leg, a great deal of money.

   Our night on the town cost us an arm and a leg.

8. in the arms of Morpheus, asleep.

   After a strenuous day, he was soon in the arms of Morpheus.

arm ² American  

[ahrm] / ɑrm /

noun

1. Usually arms weapons, especially firearms.

2. Heraldry. arms, the escutcheon, with its divisions, charges, and tinctures, and the other components forming an achievement that symbolizes and is reserved for a person, family, or corporate body; armorial bearings; coat of arms.

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verb (used without object)

• arms,
  present (3rd person singular)
• armed,
  past participle,  past
• arming
  present participle

1. to enter into a state of hostility or of readiness for war.

verb (used with object)

• arms,
  present (3rd person singular)
• armed,
  past participle,  past
• arming
  present participle

1. to equip with weapons.

   to arm the troops.

2. to activate (a fuze) so that it will explode the charge at the time desired.

   Antonyms:

   disarm, deactivate

3. to cover protectively.

4. to provide with whatever will add strength, force, or security; support; fortify.

   He was armed with statistics and facts.

5. to equip or prepare for any specific purpose or effective use.

   to arm a security system; to arm oneself with persuasive arguments.

   Synonyms:

   outfit, ready, equip

6. to prepare for action; make fit; ready.

idioms

1. bear arms,

   1. to carry weapons.

   2. to serve as a member of the military or of contending forces.

      His religious convictions kept him from bearing arms, but he served as an ambulance driver with the Red Cross.

2. up in arms, ready to take action; indignant; outraged.

   There is no need to get up in arms over such a trifle.

3. under arms, ready for battle; trained and equipped.

   The number of men under arms is no longer the decisive factor in warfare.

4. take up arms, to prepare for war; go to war.

   to take up arms against the enemy.

Arm ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Armenian.

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ARM ⁴ American  

1. adjustable-rate mortgage.

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Arm. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Armenian.

2. Armorican.

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arm ¹ British  

/ ɑːm /

noun

1. (in man) either of the upper limbs from the shoulder to the wrist

2. the part of either of the upper limbs from the elbow to the wrist; forearm

3. 1. the corresponding limb of any other vertebrate

   2. an armlike appendage of some invertebrates

4. an object that covers or supports the human arm, esp the sleeve of a garment or the side of a chair, sofa, etc

5. anything considered to resemble an arm in appearance, position, or function, esp something that branches out from a central support or larger mass

   an arm of the sea

   the arm of a record player

6. an administrative subdivision of an organization

   an arm of the government

7. power; authority

   the arm of the law

8. any of the specialist combatant sections of a military force, such as cavalry, infantry, etc

9. nautical See yardarm

10. sport ball games ability to throw or pitch

    he has a good arm

11. informal a large amount of money

12. with arms linked

13. at a distance; away from familiarity with or subjection to another

14. informal to be prepared to make any sacrifice

15. sleeping

16. with great warmth and hospitality

    to welcome someone with open arms

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verb

1. archaic (tr) to walk arm in arm with

arm ² British  

/ ɑːm /

verb

1. to equip with weapons as a preparation for war

2. to provide (a person or thing) with something that strengthens, protects, or increases efficiency

   he armed himself against the cold

3. 1. to activate (a fuse) so that it will explode at the required time

   2. to prepare (an explosive device) for use by introducing a fuse or detonator

4. nautical to pack arming into (a sounding lead)

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noun

1. (usually plural) a weapon, esp a firearm

Arm. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Armenia(n)

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ARM ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. adjustable rate mortgage

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arm More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing arm

• at arm's length
• babe in arms
• forewarned is forearmed
• give one's eyeteeth (right arm)
• long arm of the law
• one-armed bandit
• put the arm on
• shot in the arm
• take up arms
• talk someone's arm off
• twist someone's arm
• up in arms
• with one arm tied behind
• with open arms

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• armed
  adjective
• armless
  adjective
• armlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• arming
  present
• armed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• arm
  simple
• arms
  simple
• have armed
  perfect
• has armed
  perfect
• am arming
  progressive
• are arming
  progressive
• is arming
  progressive
• have been arming
  perfect progressive
• has been arming
  perfect progressive

Past

• armed
  simple
• had armed
  perfect
• was arming
  progressive
• were arming
  progressive
• had been arming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will arm
  simple
• will have armed
  perfect
• will be arming
  progressive
• will have been arming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of arm¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English earm; cognate with Gothic arms, Old Norse armr, Old Frisian erm, Dutch, Old Saxon, Old High German arm ( German Arm ) “arm,” Latin armus “shoulder” and arma (neuter plural) “tools, weapons”; akin to Serbo-Croatian rȁme, rȁmo “shoulder”; Sanskrit īrmá, Avestan arəma-, Old Prussian irmo “arm”; see arm ²

Origin of arm²

First recorded in 1200–50 for the verb; 1300–50 for the noun; Middle English verb armen, from Anglo-French, Old French armer, from Latin armāre “to arm, equip,” verbal derivative of arma (neuter plural) “tools, weapons”; Middle English noun armes (plural), from Old French armes, from Latin arma (neuter plural reinterpreted as a feminine singular); akin to arm ¹

Explanation

An arm is a limb on the upper part of a person's body. You can call the front limb of any animal an arm, though they're more often called "legs." Starfish have five arms, while humans have two. The sleeves of your shirt are arms too, and an excellent baseball pitcher is said to have "an arm," meaning a powerful throw. When arm is a verb, it means "supply with weapons." These meanings have two different roots: an arm with a hand on the end comes from the Old English earm, while the weapon arm is rooted in the Latin arma, or "weapons."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

arm Arm ARM Arm. arms armed arming

Britain's Jack Draper has had a lengthy struggle with an arm injury, ultimately ending his season early to recover, while Alcaraz's rival Jannik Sinner missed the US Open with a knee injury.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

First, Smith melts fat and tightens deeper tissue using Vaser, an ultrasonic wand inserted into the arm via a small incision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

The reports broke down his first step, going right and left, arm strength, and so on.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Anna has instead been able to see how bad it’s gotten: Her aunt is so certain of the medbeds’ imminent arrival that she won’t seek medical help for a broken arm.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

She clung to the angel’s arm, trying to claw her way back onto the collapsing shore.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Arm, AMD and Intel are all in the business of making central processing units for artificial-intelligence servers.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

In a wide-ranging interview, Haas said the chips Arm designs would fuel self-learning AI robots "in a very large way" in manufacturing, cleaning, security, building bridges, and doing repairs within a decade.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

Leopold noted that Arm mostly benefits from rising demand through its business selling royalties and licensing for its chip designs — though its first-ever in-house CPU optimized to support AI workloads could offer an advantage.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

“We are now in a new business for Arm to supply chips,” CEO Rene Haas said—a departure from his 2022 observation that the company tried “to stay as neutral as possible.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Eye moved his head from side to side, a motion that always reminded Arm of an alert cobra.

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer

He shopped around to find the lowest rate, and opted for an ARM that had a fixed period of five years — the amount of time he planned to spend in the current home.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

Refinancing to an ARM seemed like a no-brainer, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

The broader semiconductor sector followed suit, with shares of Micron, Intel, Marvell, and ARM Holdings all shedding 4% or more as investors questioned whether the dizzying AI trade has more room to run.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Business Secretary Peter Kyle says he would have intervened to block the sale of UK microchip company ARM Holdings had he been in government at the time.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

If Powers had to eject while in flight, his instructions were first to flip a switch marked ARM and a second switch marked DESTRUCT.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

"It's a unique group. We're not all RAF, we're not all Fleet Air Arm. We've got all sorts of people. It's quite a family atmosphere."

From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2020

“Come on, Arm. Let’s go for a walk,” said Ear.

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer

“I’m going to lie in bed and relive all the courses in the Starlight Room. You should try that, Arm. You have the best imagination. Arm?”

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer

Arm. bonn boundary, limit, and boden, bod, a tuft or cluster of trees, by which a boundary or limit could be marked.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Noah Webster

Yate, of Bockland, Berks, Arm., appears as a surety in 1583, in the Haberdashers' books.

From Shakespeare's Family by C. C. (Charlotte Carmichael) Stopes

Standing on a concrete pedestal, the statue will depict the pontiff with open arms, wearing his long papal robe and a crucifix around his neck.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

Ms. Fritz dismisses speculation that the two fell into each other’s arms on this sunny, romantic-sounding holiday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

They are voice-activated, with open speakers in the arms funnelling sound into your ears.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

In contrast, Russia’s arms control positions provide insights into its views on human control.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026

He wrapped his arms around the trunk of a firmly rooted tree, the wind rushing so fiercely it threatened to pull the whiskers from his face.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

The difficulty is that trust between Addis Ababa and Tigray is extremely low, while the formation of the new armed alliance has made the situation more complicated.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

The Unmanned Systems Forces, which he has commanded since June 2025, amounts to 2.5% of Ukraine’s armed forces, but it’s responsible for approximately a third of all Russian casualties in the past year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

I came armed with another Cage-ism: Every seat is the best seat in the house.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

"We have to get that balance right between what's happened in the past and what would actually affect an armed forces personnel in their day-to-day duties."

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Now there remained only John Wilkes Booth, still at bay, and armed.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

By arming her mammies with revolvers, rifles and bullets, Saar turned a symbol of servility into one of militancy and power.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

According to prosecutors, Allen spent his last minutes checking websites that covered Trump's whereabouts, arming himself, and posing for a selfie taken with a cellphone in the mirror of his room.

From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026

Marines have also practiced setting up a forward arming and refueling point on Yonaguni.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

North Korea also recently carried out missile tests from the naval Choe Hyon destroyer, claiming the country was in the process of "arming the Navy with nuclear weapons".

From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026

Anyway, they were more indulgent toward us than at any other time; they snapped at the heels of the seniors, driving and molding and arming them for the war.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

Related Words

• fortify
• load
• mobilize
• prepare
• protect
• provide
• strengthen
• supply