alarm
a sudden fear or distressing suspense caused by an awareness of danger; apprehension; fright.
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.
an automatic device that serves to call attention, to rouse from sleep, or to warn of fire, smoke, an intruder, etc.
a warning sound; signal for attention.
Animal Behavior. any sound, outcry, chemical discharge, action, or other signal that functions to draw attention to a potential predator.
Fencing. an appeal or a challenge made by a step or stamp on the ground with the advancing foot.
Archaic. a call to arms.
to make fearful or apprehensive; distress.
to warn of danger; rouse to vigilance and swift measures for safety.
to fit or equip with an alarm or alarms, as for fire, smoke, or robbery: to alarm one's house and garage.
Origin of alarm
1synonym study For alarm
Other words for alarm
Other words from alarm
- a·larm·a·ble, adjective
- a·larm·ed·ly [uh-lahr-mid-lee], /əˈlɑr mɪd li/, adverb
- pre·a·larm, verb (used with object), noun
- un·a·larmed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use alarm in a sentence
After a 2016 fire tornado ripped through northern Canada and a firestorm consumed Gatlinburg, Tennessee, he said, “alarm bells started going off” for the insurance industry.
Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration | by Abrahm Lustgarten, photography by Meridith Kohut | September 15, 2020 | ProPublicaMeanwhile, last month, the WHO raised an alarm that the response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the west of the DR Congo is underfunded and facing logistic challenges.
Scientists in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and US have developed a $1 test for Ebola and Lassa virus | Uwagbale Edward-Ekpu | September 14, 2020 | QuartzHe is one of a number of federal defense attorneys who have been sounding the alarm about conditions at the downtown prison, arguing that people being detained in the facility were being put at risk.
Morning Report: Downtown Jail Outbreak Goes From Bad to Worse | Voice of San Diego | September 11, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoThe idea is to make the trail go cold or, better yet, raise false alarms for investigators.
North Korean hackers steal billions in cryptocurrency. How do they turn it into real cash? | Patrick O'Neill | September 10, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewShe was early to sound the alarm on the pandemic while also arguing for keeping parks and beaches open.
The early reaction to Shami closing his account is similarly alarmed.
Chernon Bah, co-founder of A World at School, was alarmed by what she witnessed recently in Sierra Leone.
Biologist Mattson is alarmed by the abrupt 2008 rise in grizzly mortality from conflicts both with livestock and hunters.
He saw his mother on the couch and figured she was sleeping, but then he became alarmed.
Did the Amber Lynn Coplin Murder Photos Sicken the Creeps of 4Chan? | Michael Daly | November 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe had grown even more alarmed when he discovered that her passport was missing.
The expatriated ex-rebels became alarmed by the non-receipt of the indemnity instalment and the news from their homes.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanAlice had been wondering what had detained her so long, and by the time she arrived had become very much alarmed.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le FanuThe sentinels seemed much alarmed, and drew up their carbines as if to shoot.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. DunnOne fainting-fit succeeded to another; till at last Alphonse began to be seriously alarmed.
A maid, alarmed at the din of breaking glass, entered the room to discover what was the matter.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate Chopin
British Dictionary definitions for alarm
/ (əˈlɑːm) /
to fill with apprehension, anxiety, or fear
to warn about danger; alert
to fit or activate a burglar alarm on a house, car, etc
fear or terror aroused by awareness of danger; fright
apprehension or uneasiness: the idea of failing filled him with alarm
a noise, signal, etc, warning of danger
any device that transmits such a warning: a burglar alarm
the device in an alarm clock that triggers off the bell or buzzer
short for alarm clock
archaic a call to arms
fencing a warning or challenge made by stamping the front foot
Origin of alarm
1Derived forms of alarm
- alarming, adjective
- alarmingly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with alarm
see false alarm.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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