Showing results for "armed"

• past tense form of arm.
• past participle of arm.

armed

¹ American  

[ahrmd] / ɑrmd /

adjective

1. having a specified number or kind of arms (often used in combination): a weak-armed quarterback.

   a four-armed Hindu god;

   a weak-armed quarterback.

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armed ² American  

[ahrmd] / ɑrmd /

adjective

1. bearing firearms; having weapons.

   a heavily armed patrol.

2. maintained by arms.

   armed peace.

3. involving the use of weapons.

   armed conflict.

4. equipped.

   The students came armed with their pocket calculators.

5. (especially of an animal) covered protectively, as by a shell.

6. fortified; made secure.

   Armed by an inveterate optimism, he withstood despair.

7. (of an artillery shell, bomb, missile, etc.) having the fuze made operative.

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armed ¹ British  

/ ɑːmd /

adjective

1. equipped with or supported by arms, armour, etc

2. prepared for conflict or any difficulty

3. (of an explosive device) prepared for use; having a fuse or detonator installed

4. (of plants) having the protection of thorns, spines, etc

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armed ² British  

/ ɑːmd /

adjective

1. 1. having an arm or arms

   2. ( in combination )

      long-armed

      one-armed

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Other Word Forms

• half-armed
  adjective
• well-armed
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of armed¹

First recorded in 1500–10; arm ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ³ ( def. )

Origin of armed²

First recorded in 1250–1300; arm ², + -ed ² ( def. )

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Explanation

If you're armed, you are carrying some kind of weapon. Armed soldiers are most commonly supplied with guns. In the United States, police officers are almost always armed, while British police usually don't carry guns. When a crime involves the use of a weapon, it might be described as an armed robbery, and even an animal is sometimes said to be armed: "The cat was armed with sharp teeth and claws against the puppy's enthusiasm." The Latin root is arma, "weapons," or "tools of war."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

armed

About the size of a large tiger and armed with enormous curved claws, the animal roamed what is now Britain approximately 120 million years ago.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

The group has repeatedly declared that Saudi airspace is a “theater for the operations of our armed forces.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Grynkewich elaborated what he called his "theory of victory" to defeat an armed attack on the alliance as worries surge over what Western officials call a "hybrid" campaign of sabotage and interference by Moscow.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s armed forces had received appropriate orders, although he did not specify what those instructions entailed.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

Indeed, armed with microscopes, cell biologists had become accustomed to a cellular world in which visible structures performed identifiable functions within cells.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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Related Words

• equipped
• loaded
• outfitted
• supplied

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