darn

¹

[dahrn]

adjective

1. darned.

verb (used with object)

1. to curse; damn.

   Darn that pesky fly!

darn

²

[dahrn]

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.

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

/ dɑːn /

verb

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

noun

1. a patch of darned work on a garment

2. the process or act of darning

darn

²

/ dɑːn /

interjection

1. a euphemistic word for damn damn damn damn damn

Other Word Forms

• darner noun
• darning noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of darn¹

First recorded in 1775–85; darned

Origin of darn²

First recorded in 1590–1600; origin unknown

Word History and Origins

Origin of darn¹

C16: probably from French (Channel Islands dialect) darner; compare Welsh, Breton darn piece

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. give a darn. damn.

Synonym Study

See mend.

Example Sentences

In the AI era, where it is harder than ever to tell a winner from a fugazi, sunlight every quarter is pretty darn essential.

Read more on Barron's

Otherwise, a glass of rosé and Bravo is pretty darn good.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I wouldn’t have chosen cantaloupe as the fruit to go to in my morning, but it turns out cantaloupe is pretty darn good.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In the time it takes to come up with a detailed prompt and revise the output, you could write the darn message yourself.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

On one hand, the economy isn’t great, and every choice you make is an opportunity to be scrutinized by those darn online activists, not to mention the board of investors!

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• dang 
• doggone