loom

¹

[ loom ]

noun

1. a hand-operated or power-driven apparatus for weaving fabrics, containing harnesses, lay, reed, shuttles, treadles, etc.
2. the art or the process of weaving.
3. the part of an oar between the blade and the handle.

verb (used with object)

1. to weave (something) on a loom.

loom

²

[ loom ]

verb (used without object)

1. to appear indistinctly; come into view in indistinct and enlarged form:

   The mountainous island loomed on the horizon.

2. to rise before the vision with an appearance of great or portentous size:

   Suddenly a police officer loomed in front of him.

   Synonyms: tower, rear

3. to assume form as an impending event:

   A battle looms at the convention.

noun

1. a looming appearance, as of something seen indistinctly at a distance or through a fog:

   the loom of a moraine directly in their path.

loom

³

[ loom ]

noun

, British Dialect.

1. loon ¹.
2. a guillemot or murre.

L.O.O.M.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Loyal Order of Moose.

loom

¹

/ luːm /

noun

1. another name for diver
2. any of various other birds, esp the guillemot

loom

²

/ luːm /

noun

1. an apparatus, worked by hand ( hand loom ) or mechanically ( power loom ), for weaving yarn into a textile
2. the middle portion of an oar, which acts as a fulcrum swivelling in the rowlock

loom

³

/ luːm /

verb

1. to come into view indistinctly with an enlarged and often threatening aspect
2. (of an event) to seem ominously close
3. often foll by over (of large objects) to dominate or overhang

noun

1. a rising appearance, as of something far away

Word History and Origins

Origin of loom¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English lome, lombe, lume “tool, implement, loom,” Old English lōma, gelōma; further origin uncertain

Origin of loom²

First recorded in 1590–1600; origin uncertain; perhaps akin to East Frisian lomen, Swedish lome “move slowly”

Origin of loom³

First recorded in 1670–80; from Old Norse lōmr “loon”

Word History and Origins

Origin of loom¹

C17: from Old Norse lomr

Origin of loom²

C13 (meaning any kind of tool): variant of Old English gelōma tool; compare heirloom

Origin of loom³

C16: perhaps from East Frisian lomen to move slowly

Example Sentences

It’s the most photographed and visited location on the site, and it looms over the Court of Champions, the stadium’s busiest place on any event day.

From Los Angeles Times

But as 2024 loomed, the scion of America’s most famous Democratic family saw a way back into the public eye.

From Los Angeles Times

Further research could explore the underlying biology of the adaptive mechanism and uncover new ways to combat one of the biggest looming crises in global health.

From Science Daily

For most of the running time, it keeps politics on the margins, like a phantom presence looming over the members of one bourgeois family’s everyday lives.

From New York Times

Of course you’re not going to talk about the looming economic disaster posed by tariffs or the scourge of pet-eating immigrants with The Other Side.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• brew
• come on
• dominate
• emerge
• hover
• mount
• overshadow
• portend
• soar
• stand out
• threaten