darn

¹ American  

[dahrn] / dɑrn /

adjective

1. darned.

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verb (used with object)

1. to curse; damn.

   Darn that pesky fly!

idioms

1. give a darn. damn.

darn ² American  

[dahrn] / dɑrn /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to mend (torn clothing, especially of knitted fabric) with rows of stitches, sometimes by crossing and interweaving rows to span a gap.

   At the sound of my greeting, Grandma looked up and stopped darning the sock, holding her arms out for a hug.

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noun

1. a darned place, as in a garment.

   That old sweater full of darns was one of my favorite things to put on after work.

darn ¹ British  

/ dɑːn /

verb

1. to mend (a hole or a garment) with a series of crossing or interwoven stitches

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noun

1. a patch of darned work on a garment

2. the process or act of darning

darn ² British  

/ dɑːn /

interjection

1. a euphemistic word for damn damn damn damn damn

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Related Words

See mend.

Other Word Forms

• darner noun
• darning noun

Etymology

Origin of darn¹

First recorded in 1775–85; darned

Origin of darn²

First recorded in 1590–1600; origin unknown

Example Sentences

I didn’t take my phone up to do the class photo, but I know some other people were, they were videoing, and I’m like, “Oh darn, I wish that I took the phone up.”

From Los Angeles Times

I had a dandy pocketknife, and a darn good dog; that was about all a boy could hope for in those days.

From Literature

Like Riley himself, his statue looked darn near perfect.

From Los Angeles Times

"You don't get many people mending raw cashmere," said Wade, whose role is to meticulously inspect and darn any defects in the fabric by hand, before it is washed, cut and shipped around the world.

From Barron's

“Quite frankly, we don’t give a darn about her good merit credits,” said Montalvo.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dang
• doggone