arm'd

Adjective (1)

armed (comparative more armed, superlative most armed)

1. (in-compounds, sometimes) Equipped, especially with a weapon.
   • nuclear-armed
   1. (in-compounds, sometimes, specifically) Equipped with a gun.
      • The violence began when Serbian troops went into Croatia ostensibly to aid armed ethnic Serbians trying to create their own autonomous states there.2015 February 3, Greg Botelho, “U.N. court: Serbs’ actions in Croatia not considered genocide”, in CNN, archived from the original on 04 Mar 2021
2. Prepared for use; loaded.
3. (obsolete) Furnished with something that serves to add strength, force, or efficiency.
   • a distemper eminently armed from heaven1722, Daniel Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year
4. Having prickles or thorns.

Adjective (2)

armed (not comparable)

1. (in-compounds) Having an arm or arms, often of a specified number or type.

   Antonyms:

   armless

See all 8 meanings of armed

Verb (1)

arm (third-person singular simple present arms, present participle arming, simple past and past participle armed)

1. (obsolete) To take by the arm; to take up in one's arms.
   • And make him with our pikes and partisans / A grave: come, arm him.1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...

Verb (2)

arm (third-person singular simple present arms, present participle arming, simple past and past participle armed)

1. (transitive) To supply with armour or (later especially) weapons.
   • The king armed his knights with swords and shields.
2. (figuratively, transitive) To supply with the equipment, knowledge, authority, or other tools needed for a particular task; to furnish with capability; to equip.
   • thou getteſt no more of me.
     For I am ſure thy Office doth not arme thee with ſuch authoritie.1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act I
3. (transitive) To prepare (a tool, weapon, or system) for action; to activate.
   • Remember to arm the alarm system before leaving for work.
4. (intransitive, or system) To become prepared for action; to activate.
   • Torpedoes were loosed, but the range was too short for them to actually arm, and they bounced harmlessly off the ship as it cut loose with its secondary and antiaircraft guns, smashing anything that it could see.2021 March 10, Drachinifel, 14:43 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN), archived from the original on 17 Oct 2022
5. (transitive) To cover or furnish with a plate, or with whatever will add strength, force, security, or efficiency.
   • to arm the hilt of a sword; to arm a hook in angling

See all 25 meanings of arm