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
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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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"On the Menu" and "Find the Adaptations"
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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:
Chainlink necklaces, lace headpieces and even fringe bangs become a form of armor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
And put on this almost armor in a sense of what she views to be the most perfect version of herself for the outside world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Investigators searched the man’s home and found an “illegally modified AR platform rifle,” a pistol, magazines, ammunition and body armor, among other things.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Dermal armor refers to hard, bony plates embedded within the skin.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
After removing some of the armor and grime, the man recognized Don Alonso and decided to take him back to town.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
With each of her characters, Nazarin included, Neshat gradually sheds their armors of self-possession and strength, their reserve and resolve, to reveal how fragile, scared and insecure they truly are.
From New York Times ● May 3, 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
One of the body armors noticed her and he moved swiftly to her and batted her phone away with a gloved hand.
From Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
The armored truck was on sale for “somewhere around $10,000,” Bill told me.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 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
They and the other dinosaurs — a T. rex, an armored ankylosaurus, a sight-gag-worthy giant snake — adapt to the 20th century as comfortably as coyotes, skulking through backyards in search of prey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
In crocodilians, these protective structures are often called osteoderms and form the armored surface visible along the back.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Pulsing blue lights lined the runway, which ran up the center of the hangar to a massive pair of armored doors at the far end.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
“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
At the Olympic Sculpture Park, for instance, the insects, crustaceans, worms, snails and clams that feed Chinook salmon were back on the menu less than a year after concrete armoring was removed and habitat restored.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 22, 2024
But human engineering, like building dams or armoring riverbanks, can affect streamflow and raise water temperatures.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 30, 2023
Conducted without heavy machinery or other expensive equipment, it was also cost-effective compared with traditional methods of coastal defense, such as sea walls and coastal armoring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2023
Within, Catelyn found Brienne armoring the king for battle while the Lords Tarly and Rowan spoke of dispositions and tactics.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
