darn

¹ American  

[dahrn] / dɑrn /

adjective

1. darned.

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verb (used with object)

1. to curse; damn.

   Darn that pesky fly!

idioms

1. give a darn. damn.

darn ² American  

[dahrn] / dɑrn /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to mend (torn clothing, especially of knitted fabric) with rows of stitches, sometimes by crossing and interweaving rows to span a gap.

   At the sound of my greeting, Grandma looked up and stopped darning the sock, holding her arms out for a hug.

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noun

1. a darned place, as in a garment.

   That old sweater full of darns was one of my favorite things to put on after work.

darn ¹ British  

/ dɑːn /

verb

1. to mend (a hole or a garment) with a series of crossing or interwoven stitches

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noun

1. a patch of darned work on a garment

2. the process or act of darning

darn ² British  

/ dɑːn /

interjection

1. a euphemistic word for damn damn damn damn damn

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Related Words

See mend.

Other Word Forms

• darner noun
• darning noun

Etymology

Origin of darn¹

First recorded in 1775–85; darned

Origin of darn²

First recorded in 1590–1600; origin unknown

Explanation

To darn is to stitch up a small hole in a piece of clothing. Instead of throwing your worn-out socks away, you can just darn the holes in their toes. When you darn your socks or sweaters, you use a needle and thread to close small holes in the woven fabric. There's even a specific stitch known as a "darning stitch," in which you first weave the thread with the grain of the fabric, and then fill in the other "woven" direction. The result is a sturdy patch made only of thread. Darn comes from the Middle French darner, "mend."

Example Sentences

And I’d say that currying the favor of 84% is still pretty darn good.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

Granted, a 3% annual increase in payments doesn’t guarantee you’ll outpace inflation — but it comes pretty darn close.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

Like Riley himself, his statue looked darn near perfect.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026

"You don't get many people mending raw cashmere," said Wade, whose role is to meticulously inspect and darn any defects in the fabric by hand, before it is washed, cut and shipped around the world.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

And that was before I pledged for those darn war stamps.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Related Words

• dang
• doggone