arm
noun
the upper limb of the human body, especially the part extending from the shoulder to the wrist.
arm
1 American
[ahrm]
/ ɑrm /
noun
-
the upper limb of the human body, especially the part extending from the shoulder to the wrist.
-
the upper limb from the shoulder to the elbow.
-
the forelimb of any vertebrate.
-
some part of an organism like or likened to an arm.
-
any armlike part or attachment, as the tone arm of a phonograph.
-
a covering for the arm, especially a sleeve of a garment.
the arm of a coat.
-
an administrative or operational branch of an organization.
A special arm of the government will investigate.
-
Nautical. any of the curved or bent pieces of an anchor, terminating in the flukes.
-
an armrest.
-
an inlet or cove.
an arm of the sea.
-
a combat branch of the military service, as the infantry, cavalry, or field artillery.
-
power; might; strength; authority.
the long arm of the law.
- Synonyms:
- reach
-
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.
-
Typography. either of the extensions to the right of the vertical line of a K or upward from the vertical stem of a Y.
idioms
-
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.
-
twist someone's arm, to use force or coercion on someone.
-
with open arms, cordially; with warm hospitality.
a country that receives immigrants with open arms.
-
arm in arm, with arms linked together or intertwined.
They walked along arm in arm.
-
put the arm on,
-
to solicit or borrow money from.
She put the arm on me for a generous contribution.
-
to use force or violence on; use strong-arm tactics on.
If they don't cooperate, put the arm on them.
-
-
on the arm, free of charge; gratis.
an investigation of policemen who ate lunch on the arm.
-
an arm and a leg, a great deal of money.
Our night on the town cost us an arm and a leg.
-
in the arms of Morpheus, asleep.
After a strenuous day, he was soon in the arms of Morpheus.
arm
2
American
[ahrm]
/ ɑrm /
noun
-
Usually arms weapons, especially firearms.
-
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.
verb (used without object)
-
arms,
present (3rd person singular)
-
armed,
past participle, past
-
arming
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
arms,
present (3rd person singular)
-
armed,
past participle, past
-
arming
present participle
-
to equip with weapons.
to arm the troops.
-
to activate (a fuze) so that it will explode the charge at the time desired.
- Antonyms:
- disarm, deactivate
-
to cover protectively.
-
to provide with whatever will add strength, force, or security; support; fortify.
He was armed with statistics and facts.
-
to equip or prepare for any specific purpose or effective use.
to arm a security system; to arm oneself with persuasive arguments.
-
to prepare for action; make fit; ready.
idioms
-
bear arms,
-
to carry weapons.
-
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.
-
-
up in arms, ready to take action; indignant; outraged.
There is no need to get up in arms over such a trifle.
-
under arms, ready for battle; trained and equipped.
The number of men under arms is no longer the decisive factor in warfare.
-
take up arms, to prepare for war; go to war.
to take up arms against the enemy.
Arm
3
American
abbreviation
ARM
4
American
Arm.
5
American
abbreviation
-
Armenian.
-
Armorican.
arm
1
British
/ ɑːm /
noun
-
(in man) either of the upper limbs from the shoulder to the wrist
-
the part of either of the upper limbs from the elbow to the wrist; forearm
-
-
the corresponding limb of any other vertebrate
-
an armlike appendage of some invertebrates
-
-
an object that covers or supports the human arm, esp the sleeve of a garment or the side of a chair, sofa, etc
-
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
-
an administrative subdivision of an organization
an arm of the government
-
power; authority
the arm of the law
-
any of the specialist combatant sections of a military force, such as cavalry, infantry, etc
-
nautical See yardarm
-
sport ball games ability to throw or pitch
he has a good arm
-
informal a large amount of money
-
with arms linked
-
at a distance; away from familiarity with or subjection to another
-
informal to be prepared to make any sacrifice
-
sleeping
-
with great warmth and hospitality
to welcome someone with open arms
verb
arm
2
British
/ ɑːm /
verb
-
to equip with weapons as a preparation for war
-
to provide (a person or thing) with something that strengthens, protects, or increases efficiency
he armed himself against the cold
-
-
to activate (a fuse) so that it will explode at the required time
-
to prepare (an explosive device) for use by introducing a fuse or detonator
-
-
nautical to pack arming into (a sounding lead)
noun
Arm.
3
British
abbreviation
ARM
4
British
abbreviation
arm
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
armsimple
-
armssimple
-
have armedperfect
-
has armedperfect
-
am armingprogressive
-
are armingprogressive
-
is armingprogressive
-
have been armingperfect progressive
-
has been armingperfect progressive
Past
-
armedsimple
-
had armedperfect
-
was armingprogressive
-
were armingprogressive
-
had been armingperfect progressive
Future
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
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:
The primary endpoints were for progression-free survival and overall survival in the primary population of patients versus the comparator arm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
So, on Sept. 25, 1974, Jobe took a tendon from John’s right arm, threaded it through holes he had drilled in John’s left elbow and hoped it all would work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
In a show of respect, the pair embraced before Machado Garry raised Makhachev's arm in victory.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
But its compact winding of typically unwieldy hunting-horn hoops allows the instrument to be tucked under the arm for easy portability outdoors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Nine slung an arm around his satchel, which was as tall as him and twice as fat.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The two operate through different business models: x86 is used almost exclusively by Intel and AMD, while Arm historically has licensed its technology broadly to other chip designers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Arm also derives substantial revenue through Arm China, a quasi-joint venture majority-owned by a Chinese consortium that includes state-backed investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Qualcomm prevailed in court, but the episode sent an unmistakable signal: Access to the Arm ecosystem is no longer guaranteed on predictable terms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Rather than make chips itself, Arm provided its architecture and processor designs to companies including Apple, Qualcomm, Amazon and Nvidia, allowing them to build competing chips on a common technological foundation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
He dropped to his knees, and Arm hurried over to see what had been so startling.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
In the archipelago of computing architectures—which includes Intel’s x86, still found in PCs and servers, and the ARM chips that power everything from smartphones to AI clusters—IBM’s stands alone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
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
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
Arm Holdings ARM 16.38%increase; green up pointing triangle picked a perfect time jump into the AI market with its own chips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 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
“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
“Come on, Arm. Let’s go for a walk,” said Ear.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
The Gael. has sil, to drop, rain, drip; and the Arm. has sila, to filter.
From The River-Names of Europe by Robert Ferguson
W. beichiog, beichiawg, pregnant, with child, fr. baich burden, Arm. beac'h; or cf.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Noah Webster
They nicknamed it the "Saguaro" because its prominent spiral arms resemble the cactus found in the Sonoran Desert of the Southwestern United States.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
The US-inspired Premier League arms race has led to a substantial spike in the valuations of England's top clubs, giving their owners a handsome return on their initial investment.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
A doctor on site treated the boys, who had sustained various cuts including to their feet, legs and arms.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Even the most patchouli-infested precincts of the most fervently peacenik campuses would not have dared to hope for what the two leaders tried to agree to: full elimination of nuclear arms on both sides.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
And also, there’s the matter of the mosquitoes feasting on my arms and legs.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
For decades, the Department of Homeland Security has granted TPS designations for foreign-born people who can’t return to their home countries because of unsafe conditions such as armed conflict or natural disasters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
These generational superstars have long stirred heated debate, from curious kids with jumpers for goalposts to social media cultists armed with memes and virtual binders of blistering stats.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Cobbled together in the aftermath of 9/11, the agency has 7,100 armed, highly trained agents and another 800 criminal analysts, as well as access to troves of confidential data about hundreds of millions of Americans.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
In a statement, the Trump administration called drones a “key technology in modern armed conflict.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
She managed to glide to earth and made a crash landing on a hillside, where local people greeted her armed with pitchforks, sticks, and rifles—they’d thought her falling plane might be a German fighter.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
American drone operators lack experience fixing and arming drones under fire, said the person present at the exercise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The center increased its security and began arming its security after the mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 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
"It was difficult, mastering the landscape, arming, training," she says.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026
As the European nations chose up sides, they were busily arming themselves.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
