alarms

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of alarm.

   Smoke alarms should be tested at least once a month.

   The shop installed new alarms after the break-in last spring.

   Note

   The everyday plural mostly names devices and the warnings they give: smoke alarms, car alarms, several alarms sounding at once. Because alarm can also be counted as a summons to arms or a sudden attack, the plural can mean repeated calls to defense or raids. The same spelling serves the verb meaning 'frightens', so only the sentence around it shows which one you have.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of alarm.

   The thought of losing his savings alarms him deeply.

   Even a faint smell of smoke alarms the whole household.

   Note

   Here the subject is singular, and it is usually whatever causes the fright: the news alarms him, a faint smell alarms the household. The verb always takes an object, which is the person who is frightened or put on alert. A device can be the subject too, when it sounds a warning. With I, you, we, they or a plural subject, use the base form alarm.

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