alarm
Americannoun
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alarms
plural
-
a sudden fear or distressing suspense caused by an awareness of danger; apprehension; fright.
- Synonyms:
- panic, terror, consternation
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any sound, outcry, or information intended to warn of approaching danger.
Paul Revere raced through the countryside raising the alarm that the British were coming.
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an automatic device that serves to call attention, to rouse from sleep, or to warn of fire, smoke, an intruder, etc.
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a warning sound; signal for attention.
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Animal Behavior. any sound, outcry, chemical discharge, action, or other signal that functions to draw attention to a potential predator.
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Fencing. an appeal or a challenge made by a step or stamp on the ground with the advancing foot.
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Archaic. a call to arms.
verb (used with object)
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alarms,
present (3rd person singular)
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alarmed,
past participle, past
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alarming
present participle
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to make fearful or apprehensive; distress.
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to warn of danger; rouse to vigilance and swift measures for safety.
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to fit or equip with an alarm or alarms, as for fire, smoke, or robbery.
to alarm one's house and garage.
verb
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to fill with apprehension, anxiety, or fear
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to warn about danger; alert
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to fit or activate a burglar alarm on a house, car, etc
noun
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fear or terror aroused by awareness of danger; fright
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apprehension or uneasiness
the idea of failing filled him with alarm
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a noise, signal, etc, warning of danger
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any device that transmits such a warning
a burglar alarm
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the device in an alarm clock that triggers off the bell or buzzer
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short for alarm clock
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archaic a call to arms
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fencing a warning or challenge made by stamping the front foot
Usage
What does alarm mean? Alarm is a sudden feeling of fear or suspense caused by an awareness of danger, as in The pirates boarding the ship filled the captain with alarm. An alarm is any sound or cry that is meant to alert someone. It can also be the device that produces the alarm, such as an alarm clock. Sounding the alarm means to activate a siren, bell, or a repeated verbal call, usually projected from a speaker of some kind. To alarm someone is to make them fearful or distressed, as in My parents alarmed me when they started talking about moving south. To alarm also means to warn someone about danger. Example: Not to alarm you, but I feel like I might need to go to the emergency room.
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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prealarmverb (used with object)
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alarmableadjective
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alarmingadjective
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unalarmedadjective
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alarmedlyadverb
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alarminglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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alarmsimple
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alarmssimple
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have alarmedperfect
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has alarmedperfect
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am alarmingprogressive
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are alarmingprogressive
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is alarmingprogressive
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have been alarmingperfect progressive
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has been alarmingperfect progressive
Past
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alarmedsimple
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had alarmedperfect
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was alarmingprogressive
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were alarmingprogressive
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had been alarmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of alarm
1350–1400; Middle English alarme, alarom < Middle French < Old Italian allarme, noun from phrase all'arme to (the) arms. See arm 2
Explanation
On a clock, the alarm can be set to go off at a certain time to wake nearby sleepers. You should always check the alarm on the clock at a hotel because a previous guest may have it set to go off in the middle of the night. The noun alarm refers to a signal that is meant to rouse, alert, or awaken someone. On April 18, 1775, William Dawes, Paul Revere, and several others rode from Boston to Lexington, Massachusetts to raise the alarm that the British were coming. As a verb, alarm means to be filled with anxiety or apprehension. You may become alarmed if your children become too quiet. Never a good sign — they are probably up to something mischievous.
Vocabulary lists containing alarm
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Yet, the Dodgers aren’t sounding the alarm with 37 games left.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
The front-desk agents at my airport hotel, hearing too many horror stories from guests stuck in hourslong passport lines this summer, similarly suggested a god-awful-early alarm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Kazakhstan's cloud-seeding trials raised alarm in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan where fears were flagged of "cloud theft" -- alleging that rain clouds could be diverted to Kazakhstan, aggravating its own drought.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
In a fire, any person expects to hear the piercing blare of a smoke alarm, yet not a single detector sounded that night.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Oh, God, Fern, it’s just you. The silent alarm went off, and I— What are you doing in here?”
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
She urged ministers to look into a silent notifications, warning that "if alarms become frequent, victims may no longer feel safe keeping these phones".
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Two weeks later, I noticed the fire and safety team walking through the prison, holding clipboards, testing alarms, and inspecting extinguishers.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Meanwhile, detained immigrants and their supporters have raised increasing alarms over medical care provided by ICE.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
AFP journalists reported hearing more than 10 explosions in a row, triggering car alarms on the streets.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
“All the fire alarms were false. Weren’t any real fires.”
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
Then, investors grew alarmed by several high-profile defaults caused by alleged frauds, and by loans made to software companies at risk of disruption by artificial intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
The United States alarmed its tropical island territories earlier this year, detailing plans to carve up parts of the Pacific Ocean for mining exploration.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
When I purchased a copy of Evie’s print magazine in May, I was alarmed at how the magazine not only promoted radical skinniness but also discouraged women from healthy habits like exercise.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
"I was then alarmed with all the fire people about."
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The priest was sufficiently alarmed that he had broken the tenet of parishioner confidentiality.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Witnesses describing an "alarming feeling" and "ash falling from the sky".
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
The overall tongue-in-cheekiness of “Lanterns” makes it wobbly stuff for allegory, but the more alarming aspect is the John Stewart backstory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Latino men who cut artificial-stone countertops in California are falling ill from an incurable and deadly lung disease at an alarming rate, a new study finds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
They flagged Hilton’s alarming livestream within minutes, closed other live streams within 90 seconds and banned the account, the spokesperson said, but its removal was delayed by what was characterized as “a moderator error.”
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Most alarming of all, the number of circuits and spies was growing.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
