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; see origin at 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

In terms of why she caught the world’s attention and ended up selling so darn many books and becoming such an icon, I think number one, of course, is her talent.

From Slate • Apr. 18, 2026

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

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

"A lot of our operations are definitely a skill from the past," said Dempsey, adding that people don't learn how to "darn their socks anymore."

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

“I really, really want people to engage with ‘Pluribus’ any darn way they want to,” Gilligan recently told Vulture.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 31, 2025

But it sounded like, "Blah, blah, blurb," and darn it all, he lost the whole bite of apricots, right down his bib.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

Related Words

• dang
• doggone