alarum
Americannoun
noun
-
archaic an alarm, esp a call to arms
-
(used as a stage direction, esp in Elizabethan drama) a loud disturbance or conflict (esp in the phrase alarums and excursions )
Etymology
Origin of alarum
C15: variant of alarm
Vocabulary lists containing alarum
"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Selection Vocabulary 4, Unit 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
Thus was the alarum sounded for more spit, less polish.
From Time Magazine Archive
When four days passed without sign of the boat Mrs. Minevitch set up an alarum.
From Time Magazine Archive
Disturbed by the man’s alarum, we looked up from our labor and found a detachment of Redcoats running in formation for the gates.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Phal. capite cristato, collo posteriori, corporeque supra intense purpureis; alis scapularibusque viridi atris; remigibus rectricibusque duodecim fusco-atris; corpore subtus, fasci� alarum, macul�que dorsi medii sericeo-albis; rostro nigro; pedibus flavescentibus.
From Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836 Volume I. - Proceedings of the First Expedition, 1826-1830 by Fitzroy, Robert
Francis Drake, with the national alarum instant in his ears, desired first to win at bowls, on the Devon sward, "and afterwards to settle with the Don."
From Modern Essays by Ayres, Harry Morgan
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.
