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

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. )

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

But given the state’s growing need, and now armed with new law that allows more serious fines for municipalities that fail to comply, Newsom’s administration has doubled down on the housing element.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026

Since the coup, some of Myanmar's myriad ethnic minority factions have banded with pro-democracy guerrillas to fight the armed forces.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

Chief among the "fossils", in the eyes of some of the soldiers who responded to our requests, is Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the austere 60-year-old commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

For Myanmar's armed forces, "the PDFs are a nuisance, but they are not a major strategic threat", said Morgan Michaels, research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Big black beard, huge muscles, and armed with a gigantic ax, fighting hordes of monsters or legions of demons.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

Related Words

• equipped
• loaded
• outfitted
• supplied