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

She played that darn rock ’n’ roll music at top volume as a teenager, and she liked boys who drove noisy cars.

From Literature

I know because I finally rescued that darn journal from the bottom of my bag and wrote it down.

From Literature

It was the size of a darning needle.

From Literature

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

Related Words

• dang
• doggone