Definition of "arm"

arm¹

/ɑːm/

noun
plural arms
1. The portion of the upper human appendage, from the shoulder to the wrist and sometimes including the hand.
  Quotations
  When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. He had him gripped firmly by the arm, since he felt it was not safe to let him loose, and he had no immediate idea what to do with him.
  1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess‎
2. (anatomy) The extended portion of the upper limb, from the shoulder to the elbow.
3. A limb, or locomotive or prehensile organ, of an invertebrate animal.
4. The part of a piece of clothing that covers the arm.
  Quotations
  […] one arm of this jacket streamed behind him like the broidered arm of a huzzar’s surcoat.
  1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, page 485
  […] he noticed that a dark stain had appeared under the arm of her grey silk dress.
  1970, J. G. Farrell, Troubles‎, New York: Knopf, published 1971, page 340
  Samad made a grab for the boy and caught him by the arm of his shirt.
  2000, Zadie Smith, White Teeth, London: Hamish Hamilton, page 82
5. A long, narrow, more or less rigid part of an object extending from the main part or centre of the object, such as the arm of an armchair, a crane, a pair of spectacles or a pair of compasses.
6. (geography) A bay or inlet off a main body of water.
7. A branch of an organization.
  Quotations
  Congress has asked the Government Accountability Office, its investigative arm, to review the workplace complaints raised by air marshals, said Charles Young, a spokesman for the office.
  2018 April 25, Ron Nixon, “Scandals and Investigations, but Few Arrests, for Air Marshals Program”, in The New York Times‎
8. (figurative) Power; might; strength; support.
  Quotations
  To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Isaiah 52:1
9. (baseball, slang) A pitcher
10. (genetics) One of the two parts of a chromosome.
11. A group of patients in a medical trial.
verb
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.
  Quotations
  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, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene ii]
  Arm your prize; / I know you will not lose him.
  1613–1614 (date written), John Fletcher, William Shak[e]speare, The Two Noble Kinsmen: […], London: […] Tho[mas] Cotes, for Iohn Waterson; […], published 1634, (please specify the page), (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)

arm²

/ɑːm/

adjective
comparative armer or more arm, superlative armest or most arm
1. (UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland) Poor; lacking in riches or wealth.
2. (UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland) To be pitied; pitiful; wretched.

arm³

/ɑːm/

noun
plural arms
1. (usually used in the plural) A weapon.
  Quotations
  A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
  1789, Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
  The next thing I laid hold of was a brace of pistols, and as I already had a powder horn and bullets, I felt myself well supplied with arms.
  1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883
2. (in the plural) Heraldic bearings or insignia.
3. (in the plural, obsolete) War; hostilities; deeds or exploits of war.
verb
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.
  Quotations
  They were arming them with spears and shields, putting iron halfhelms on their heads, and arraying them along the inner wall, a rank of snowy sentinels. "Lord Winter has joined us with his levies," one of the sentries [said].
  2015, George R. R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons, Bantam, page 593
2. (transitive, figurative) To supply with the equipment, knowledge, authority, or other tools needed for a particular task; to furnish with capability; to equip.
  Quotations
  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 […], Act I
  arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1 Peter 4:1
  Many following him, and, in his journeyings, he visited many at their houses, and gave them consolation, arming them with steady resolves, to be patient in suffering and trust to God for their reward; […]
  1801(?), John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress ... to which is Added, the Life and Death of the Author, page 359
  Q. In other words, you were commissioning men here in Cincinnati to attend the polls, arming them with authority to arrest citizens; men from outside of the city of Cincinnati to arrest citizens of the city of Cincinnati […]
  1885, United States Congressional Serial Set, page 119
  Picture taking soothed support troops' anxieties twice over, empowering them as they navigated a strange environment, and arming them with proof that they really had served in a war.
  2011, Meredith H. Lair, Armed with Abundance: Consumerism & Soldiering in the Vietnam War, Univ of North Carolina Press
  […] and arming them with skills, work habits, and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.
  2014, Susan Fawcett, Grassroots with Readings: The Writer's Workbook, Cengage Learning, page 466
3. (transitive) To prepare (a tool, weapon, or system) for action; to activate.
4. (intransitive, of a tool, weapon, or system) To become prepared for action; to activate.
  Quotations
  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 October 2022
5. (transitive) To cover or furnish with a plate, or with whatever will add strength, force, security, or efficiency.
6. (intransitive) To take up weapons; to arm oneself.
7. (transitive) To fit (a magnet) with an armature.

Definition of "arm"

arm1

noun

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verb

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arm2

adjective

arm3

noun

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verb

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arm¹

arm²

arm³