armor
Americannoun
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any covering worn as a defense against weapons.
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a suit of armor.
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a metallic sheathing or protective covering, especially metal plates, used on warships, armored vehicles, airplanes, and fortifications.
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mechanized units of military forces, as armored divisions.
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Also called armament. any protective covering, as on certain animals, insects, or plants.
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any quality, characteristic, situation, or thing that serves as protection.
A chilling courtesy was his only armor.
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the outer, protective wrapping of metal, usually fine, braided steel wires, on a cable.
verb (used with object)
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armors,
present (3rd person singular)
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armored,
past participle, past
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armoring
present participle
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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armorsimple
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armorssimple
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have armoredperfect
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has armoredperfect
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am armoringprogressive
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are armoringprogressive
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is armoringprogressive
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have been armoringperfect progressive
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has been armoringperfect progressive
Past
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armoredsimple
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had armoredperfect
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was armoringprogressive
-
were armoringprogressive
-
had been armoringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of armor
1250–1300; Middle English armo ( u ) r, armure < Anglo-French armour ( e ), armure Old French armëure < Latin armātūra armature; assimilated, in Middle English and Anglo-French, to nouns ending in -our -or 2
Explanation
The metal suit worn by knights as protection in battle is called armor. You can still see suits of armor in many museums today. These days, soldiers still use armor to protect them from bullets and other weapons, though it's not usually made of metal. Modern armor, like bullet-proof vests, is made of extremely strong, dense fabric, while 13th century armor was typically made of steel. In the 14th century, the word itself meant "defensive covering worn in combat" and "means of protection," from the Old French armeure, "weapons or armor," with its Latin root, arma, "arms or gear."
Vocabulary lists containing armor
"Culture Clash"
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Medieval Europe - Introductory
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Medieval Europe - Middle School
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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 path to Plant Armor started with trying to make a cloth to go on a soldier's chest to make body armor more comfortable," said Roe.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
For termites, it provides protective armor while also creating sturdy attachment points for muscles.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
Alvarez was arrested near MacArthur Park by Los Angeles police officers in May who found two plates of military-grade body armor plates in the trunk of his car.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Not every queer person watching has my armor, or my volume, or my stubbornness.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
With arrows flying every day, weapons and armor are more coveted than gold.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
In its role-playing game World of Warcraft, released in 2004, gamers worked together online to complete quests in an effort to make their digital avatars stronger by collecting items like weapons and armors.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2022
So Tre armors himself, he goes about making himself indestructible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2021
Around the park’s Homestead entrance last week, hundreds of lubbers were splattered on the asphalt, their crushed orange armors gleaming in the sunlight.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 21, 2019
A majority of the 100 vehicles the company armors each year leave the United States for overseas clients.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2015
These shells and armors begat a kind of torpor and immobility which has continued down to our day with the echinoderms and mollusks, but the arthropods and vertebrates escaped it by some lucky stroke.
From Time and Change by John Burroughs
“The Beast is going faster than it has ever gone before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to the heavily armored presidential limousine.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
A Stellantis spokeswoman confirmed the interest from Canadian defense manufacturer Roshel, a maker of armored vehicles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Trump, 80, is expected to take a ceremonial lap of honor in his armored limousine dubbed "The Beast" and then wave the green flag to start the race.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
As I peppered him with questions about the pink car and the Brinks armored truck, he remained cagey while slowly yielding information.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
Hooded riders sat astride each of those armored backs.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
“They’re armoring the shoreline with rocks and cement walls, sometimes without permits. And Quidnessett is the poster child.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Rodrigo Rivera, manager of Blindatek, a vehicle bulletproofing service, says he started armoring cars three years ago in response to requests from clients of his car accessories company.
From Reuters ● Apr. 25, 2023
“We need temporary armoring right now,” Kadara said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2023
Talk at the meeting centered on the best practices of the time: reconnecting the stream with some of its floodplains by reclaiming adjacent property, removing armoring and reintroducing native plants along the banks.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 1, 2022
The sadness was in her eyes too, but she was armoring it away, locking it into a box even as she spoke.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
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.
