armour

¹ American  

[ahr-mer] / ˈɑr mər /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. armor.

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Armour ² American  

[ahr-mer] / ˈɑr mər /

noun

1. Philip Danforth 1832–1901, U.S. meat-packing industrialist.

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armour British  

/ ˈɑːmə /

noun

1. any defensive covering, esp that of metal, chain mail, etc, worn by medieval warriors to prevent injury to the body in battle

2. the protective metal plates on a tank, warship, etc

3. military armoured fighting vehicles in general; military units equipped with these

4. any protective covering, such as the shell of certain animals

5. nautical the watertight suit of a diver

6. engineering permanent protection for an underwater structure

7. heraldic insignia; arms

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verb

1. (tr) to equip or cover with armour

Usage

See -our.

Etymology

Origin of armour

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

Example Sentences

Both Héctor and Julio were wearing body armour, 14kg of Kevlar and armour plate.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026

Jessie saying "night night" and giving a salute to an empty suit of armour on her way out of the castle one evening was perhaps the epitome of her brilliant eccentricity.

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026

Some teenagers have grown a kind of emotional armour.

From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025

"Let us cast off the armour of our ethnic and political divisions, open our religious confessions to mutual encounter and reawaken in our hearts the dream of a united Lebanon," he said.

From BBC • Dec. 2, 2025

And a well-shot arrow at fair range could penetrate the best armour, as Meliagrance knew.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White