armour

[ahr-mer]

noun Chiefly British.

armor.

Usage note

See -our.

Armour

[ahr-mer]

noun

Philip Dan·forth [dan-fawrth, -fohrth] /ˈdæn fɔrθ, -foʊrθ/, 1832–1901, U.S. meat-packing industrialist.

armor

[ahr-mer]

noun

any covering worn as a defense against weapons.
a suit of armor.
a metallic sheathing or protective covering, especially metal plates, used on warships, armored vehicles, airplanes, and fortifications.
mechanized units of military forces, as armored divisions.
Also called armament. any protective covering, as on certain animals, insects, or plants.
any quality, characteristic, situation, or thing that serves as protection: A chilling courtesy was his only armor.
the outer, protective wrapping of metal, usually fine, braided steel wires, on a cable.

verb (used with object)

to cover or equip with armor or armor plate.

Also especially British, ar·mour.

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 -or²

Related formsar·mor·less, adjectivean·ti·ar·mor, adjectivesub·ar·mor, noun

Can be confusedamour armoire armor

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for armour

Contemporary Examples of armour

Old Hawberk sat riveting the worn greaves of some ancient suit of armour, and the ting!
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show
Robert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
Spam may be the most well known, but there are hundreds of “potted meat products” available—Armour has an entire line.
The Weirdest Food Trend Ever
Robert Rosenthal
July 15, 2010

Historical Examples of armour

The scene follows in which she plays squire to Antony and helps to buckle on his armour.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
All through the middle ages suits of armour are called 'weeds.'
Beowulf
Unknown
Knights and nobles lie clad in armour with their ladies by their sides.
English Villages
P. H. Ditchfield
Poor, ill-advised, ungrateful Armour came home on Friday last.
The Letters of Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Gwaednerth made his enemies, as it were, pay him this tribute with the gold of their armour.
Y Gododin
Aneurin

British Dictionary definitions for armour

armour

US armor

noun

any defensive covering, esp that of metal, chain mail, etc, worn by medieval warriors to prevent injury to the body in battle
the protective metal plates on a tank, warship, etc
military armoured fighting vehicles in general; military units equipped with these
any protective covering, such as the shell of certain animals
nautical the watertight suit of a diver
engineering permanent protection for an underwater structure
heraldic insignia; arms

verb

(tr) to equip or cover with armour

Word Origin for armour

C13: from Old French armure, from Latin armātūra armour, equipment

armor

noun

the US spelling of armour

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for armour

chiefly British English spelling of armor (q.v.); for suffix, see -or.

armor

c.1300, "mail, defensive covering worn in combat," also "means of protection," from Old French armeure "weapons, armor" (12c.), from Latin armatura "arms, equipment," from arma "arms, gear" (see arm (n.2)). Figurative use from mid-14c.

Meaning "military equipment generally," especially siege engines, is late 14c. The word might have died with jousting if not for late 19c. transference to metal-shielded machinery beginning with U.S. Civil War ironclads (first attested in this sense in an 1855 report from the U.S. Congressional Committee on Naval Affairs).

armor

mid-15c., from armor (n.). Related: Armored; armoring.

Idioms and Phrases with armour

armor

see chink in one's armor; knight in shining armor.