the upper limb of the human body, especially the part extending from the shoulder to the wrist.
the upper limb from the shoulder to the elbow.
the forelimb of any vertebrate.
some part of an organism like or likened to an arm.
any armlike part or attachment, as the tone arm of a phonograph.
a covering for the arm, especially a sleeve of a garment.
the arm of a coat.
an administrative or operational branch of an organization.
A special arm of the government will investigate.
Nautical. any of the curved or bent pieces of an anchor, terminating in the flukes.
an armrest.
an inlet or cove.
an arm of the sea.
a combat branch of the military service, as the infantry, cavalry, or field artillery.
power; might; strength; authority.
the long arm of the law.
support or protection.
He had always been there when I needed a strong arm to lean on or a word of counsel.
May you take comfort knowing she is in God's loving arms.
Typography. either of the extensions to the right of the vertical line of a K or upward from the vertical stem of a Y.
at arm's length, not on familiar or friendly terms; at a distance.
He's the kind of person you pity but want to keep at arm's length.
twist someone's arm, to use force or coercion on someone.
with open arms, cordially; with warm hospitality.
a country that receives immigrants with open arms.
arm in arm, with arms linked together or intertwined.
They walked along arm in arm.
put the arm on,
to solicit or borrow money from.
She put the arm on me for a generous contribution.
to use force or violence on; use strong-arm tactics on.
If they don't cooperate, put the arm on them.
on the arm, free of charge; gratis.
an investigation of policemen who ate lunch on the arm.
an arm and a leg, a great deal of money.
Our night on the town cost us an arm and a leg.
in the arms of Morpheus, asleep.
After a strenuous day, he was soon in the arms of Morpheus.
Usually arms weapons, especially firearms.
Heraldry. arms, the escutcheon, with its divisions, charges, and tinctures, and the other components forming an achievement that symbolizes and is reserved for a person, family, or corporate body; armorial bearings; coat of arms.
to equip with weapons.
to arm the troops.
to activate (a fuze) so that it will explode the charge at the time desired.
to cover protectively.
to provide with whatever will add strength, force, or security; support; fortify.
He was armed with statistics and facts.
to equip or prepare for any specific purpose or effective use.
to arm a security system; to arm oneself with persuasive arguments.
to prepare for action; make fit; ready.
bear arms,
to carry weapons.
to serve as a member of the military or of contending forces.
His religious convictions kept him from bearing arms, but he served as an ambulance driver with the Red Cross.
up in arms, ready to take action; indignant; outraged.
There is no need to get up in arms over such a trifle.
under arms, ready for battle; trained and equipped.
The number of men under arms is no longer the decisive factor in warfare.
take up arms, to prepare for war; go to war.
to take up arms against the enemy.
Armenian.
Armorican.
(in man) either of the upper limbs from the shoulder to the wrist
the part of either of the upper limbs from the elbow to the wrist; forearm
the corresponding limb of any other vertebrate
an armlike appendage of some invertebrates
an object that covers or supports the human arm, esp the sleeve of a garment or the side of a chair, sofa, etc
anything considered to resemble an arm in appearance, position, or function, esp something that branches out from a central support or larger mass
an arm of the sea
the arm of a record player
an administrative subdivision of an organization
an arm of the government
power; authority
the arm of the law
any of the specialist combatant sections of a military force, such as cavalry, infantry, etc
nautical See yardarm
sport ball games ability to throw or pitch
he has a good arm
informal a large amount of money
with arms linked
at a distance; away from familiarity with or subjection to another
informal to be prepared to make any sacrifice
sleeping
with great warmth and hospitality
to welcome someone with open arms
to equip with weapons as a preparation for war
to provide (a person or thing) with something that strengthens, protects, or increases efficiency
he armed himself against the cold
to activate (a fuse) so that it will explode at the required time
to prepare (an explosive device) for use by introducing a fuse or detonator
nautical to pack arming into (a sounding lead)
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English earm; cognate with Gothic arms, Old Norse armr, Old Frisian erm, Dutch, Old Saxon, Old High German arm ( German Arm ) “arm,” Latin armus “shoulder” and arma (neuter plural) “tools, weapons”; akin to Serbo-Croatian rȁme, rȁmo “shoulder”; Sanskrit īrmá, Avestan arəma-, Old Prussian irmo “arm”; see arm 2
First recorded in 1200–50 for the verb; 1300–50 for the noun; Middle English verb armen, from Anglo-French, Old French armer, from Latin armāre “to arm, equip,” verbal derivative of arma (neuter plural) “tools, weapons”; Middle English noun armes (plural), from Old French armes, from Latin arma (neuter plural reinterpreted as a feminine singular); akin to arm 1
An arm is a limb on the upper part of a person's body. You can call the front limb of any animal an arm, though they're more often called "legs." Starfish have five arms, while humans have two. The sleeves of your shirt are arms too, and an excellent baseball pitcher is said to have "an arm," meaning a powerful throw. When arm is a verb, it means "supply with weapons." These meanings have two different roots: an arm with a hand on the end comes from the Old English earm, while the weapon arm is rooted in the Latin arma, or "weapons."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Huijin, the state-investment arm that acts as China’s plunge-protection team, stepped back into the market last week, buying broad-based exchange-traded funds tied to stock indices to stabilize the market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
In addition to the barre work, we did a plank series, light push-ups and arm work, as well as glutes and core work on the mat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"I had trouble standing up from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me an arm," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
One prepared the station for upgrades to its electrical power system, while the other involved replacing a faulty joint on the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
But instead his arm slowly dropped to his side.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The event has been held at the Harbour Arm annually since 2023.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
About a week after its splashy debut in 2023, shares of British chip designer Arm Holdings fell below their $51 IPO price.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Leveraged funds tied to Micron Technology, Intel, and British semiconductor manufacturer Arm are all among the best-performing ETFs in the U.S. this year, with each posting gains of 400% or more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
The event includes Woman with an Arm Tattoo, an etching depicting Sue Tilley, and runs until 13 September.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
“If you’re not busy, could I send the stretch limo to pick you up? Please don’t be busy,” she added with a tremor Arm picked up at once.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
He shopped around to find the lowest rate, and opted for an ARM that had a fixed period of five years — the amount of time he planned to spend in the current home.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Business Secretary Peter Kyle says he would have intervened to block the sale of UK microchip company ARM Holdings had he been in government at the time.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Its ARM AGI CPU, unveiled Tuesday, was designed in collaboration with Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms and is slated for production later this year.
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
That’s a 5.8% discount, the biggest ARM users have had since June 2022 in both dollar and percentage terms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
If Powers had to eject while in flight, his instructions were first to flip a switch marked ARM and a second switch marked DESTRUCT.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
"It's a unique group. We're not all RAF, we're not all Fleet Air Arm. We've got all sorts of people. It's quite a family atmosphere."
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2020
“I’m going to lie in bed and relive all the courses in the Starlight Room. You should try that, Arm. You have the best imagination. Arm?”
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
“Come on, Arm. Let’s go for a walk,” said Ear.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
The Gael. has sil, to drop, rain, drip; and the Arm. has sila, to filter.
From The River-Names of Europe by Ferguson, Robert
Yate, of Bockland, Berks, Arm., appears as a surety in 1583, in the Haberdashers' books.
From Shakespeare's Family by Stopes, C. C. (Charlotte Carmichael)
There is still work to be done, though, and the Villa boss spent a large part of the first half talking to himself and then the bench, with hands on his hips or arms flailing.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
But naturally tall, with brown hair, a five o-clock shadow and muscular arms, he inevitably stood out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Mazariegos has received support from the political arms of United Teachers Los Angeles as well as his employer, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action, which together spent about $118,000.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"They welcomed us with open arms," she told AFP, though the uncertainty over when she might be able to return home still worried her.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Then I shake out my arms and legs before I dive off, slicing through the water’s surface with my fingertips.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
He and his team line up, hugging the wall, heavily armed, and tightly packed.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
The weathered thread compartment holds two toy horses with armed riders in red coats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
But modern front offices, armed with mountains of data, are increasingly comfortable constructing a roster without an established closer, instead relying on matchups to determine pitching assignments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
In Minneapolis, residents perceived the danger not as the vulnerable populations being stopped, but as armed federal power.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Austria now began to mobilize its armed forces, calling up hundreds of thousands of reserve troops and moving men into combat positions.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Assemblage artist Betye Saar, who’s known for arming stereotypical images of mammies with deadly weaponry, and has influenced generations of artists, has died.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The center increased its security and began arming its security after the mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
According to prosecutors, Allen spent his last minutes checking websites that covered Trump's whereabouts, arming himself, and posing for a selfie taken with a cellphone in the mirror of his room.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
Marines have also practiced setting up a forward arming and refueling point on Yonaguni.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
He knew how well the provincials were arming, preparing to welcome him.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
