# arm

Pronunciation: US say "AHRM" /ɑɹm/; UK say "AHM" /ɑːm/

## Noun

1. Either of the two upper limbs of the human body, from the shoulder to the wrist or hand; in anatomy, strictly the part from shoulder to elbow.
   - Simple: One of the two long parts of your body between your shoulder and your hand.
   - _The nurse wrapped a bandage around his injured arm._
   - _Swimmers use their arms to pull through the water._
3. A weapon, especially one carried or used for fighting, attack, or self-defense.
   - Simple: A tool made for fighting or hurting, like a gun or a sword.
   - _For more than a century the rifle remained the basic arm of the foot soldier._
   - _The treaty required both sides to surrender their arms._
4. A long, narrow, fairly rigid part that extends out from the main body or center of an object, such as the side support of a chair or the reach of a crane.
   - Simple: A long, thin part that sticks out from the main body of an object.
   - _She perched on the arm of the sofa and listened to the argument._
   - _When the song ended, the record player's arm lifted and swung back to its rest._
5. A distinct branch or division of a larger organization, responsible for part of its work.
   - Simple: One part or branch of a larger group or company.
   - _The intelligence arm of the agency handles foreign operations._
   - _The bank's investment arm reported strong profits this year._
7. Heraldic bearings or insignia: the symbols representing a family, institution, or state.
   - Simple: Special pictures and patterns that stand for a family, city, or country.
   - _The city's arms, a gold lion on a blue shield, are carved above the door of the town hall._
   - _Each banner bore the arms of a different noble house._
8. War; hostilities; or the deeds and exploits performed in war. *(literary)*
   - Simple: War, fighting, or the brave acts done in battle.
10. The section of a garment that covers the arm; a sleeve.
   - Simple: The part of a shirt or coat that covers your arm.
   - _The left arm of his old jacket was worn thin at the elbow._
   - _One arm of the coat had a small tear near the cuff._
11. In baseball slang, a pitcher. *(slang)*
   - Simple: In baseball, a pitcher: the player who throws the ball to batters.
   - _The team signed a hard-throwing arm to anchor the bullpen._
   - _They need one more reliable arm before the playoffs start._
12. A limb or grasping or moving organ belonging to an animal without a backbone.
   - Simple: A long body part that some animals without backbones use to move or grab things.
   - _Each arm of the squid is lined with rows of suckers._
   - _When threatened, the brittle star can shed its arms and grow new ones._
13. Power or strength to act, and the support that power can give to others.
   - Simple: Great power or strength, especially used to support or protect.
   - _Exiled dissidents soon learned that the regime's arm could reach them even overseas._
   - _She trusted the strong arm of justice to protect her._
14. A narrow stretch of sea, lake, or river extending inland from the main body of water.
   - Simple: A long, narrow part of a sea or lake that reaches into the land.
   - _The fishing village sat at the head of a sheltered arm of the bay._
   - _Glacial melt feeds the long northern arm of the lake._
15. One of the groups of patients participating in a medical trial.
   - Simple: One of the groups of people taking part in a medical study.
   - _Patients in the treatment arm received the new drug, while those in the control arm did not._
   - _The trial's experimental arm showed better results after six months._
16. Either of the two parts into which a chromosome is divided.
   - Simple: One of the two main sections of a chromosome.
   - _The short arm of the chromosome carries fewer genes than the long one._
   - _A mutation on the long arm caused the inherited disorder._

## Verb

2. To supply a person, group or force with weapons, or to take up weapons yourself, in readiness for fighting.
   - Simple: To give people weapons, or to get weapons ready yourself, to be able to fight.
   - _The government decided to arm the coast guard with heavier cannon._
   - _Smugglers armed the fishing boats with hidden guns._
6. To provide someone with the knowledge, skills, authority, or tools needed for a particular task; to equip.
   - Simple: To give someone the skills, facts, or tools they need to do something.
   - _The training program armed new managers with practical leadership tools._
   - _We must arm voters with accurate information before the election._
9. To make a weapon, bomb, alarm or other system ready to go off or act; also, of such a system, to become ready in this way.
   - Simple: To set a weapon, alarm or system so that it is ready to go off or work.
   - _The crew was ordered not to arm the bombs until the plane was over the target._
   - _Before going to bed, he armed the alarm system and checked that every window was locked._
17. To cover or fit something with a plate, or with anything that adds strength, force, security, or efficiency.
   - Simple: To cover something with a plate or other material to make it stronger or safer.
   - _In the mid-1800s, navies began to arm wooden warships with thick iron plates to protect them from cannon fire._
   - _To learn what the seabed was like, sailors armed the bottom of the sounding lead with tallow, which picked up sand or mud._

## Verb

18. To take someone by the arm, or to lift a person up in one's arms. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To take someone by the arm, or to lift them up in your arms.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To fit a magnet with an armature, a piece of soft iron placed across its poles.
- (adjective) Having little money or few possessions; not wealthy.
- (adjective) Pitiful or wretched; deserving to be pitied.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 4–5, 10–16, 18** — This sense comes from Middle English arm, from Old English earm, going back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic *armaz ('arm') to a Proto-Indo-European root *h₂er- ('to join, fit together'). It is related to Dutch arm, German Arm, and the Scandinavian arm, as well as Latin armus ('shoulder') and Ancient Greek harmós ('joint, shoulder').
**Meanings 2–3, 6–9, 17** — The noun was formed from arms, which came through Old French armes from Latin arma ('weapons'); the verb came separately through Old French armer from Latin armāre ('to arm'). Both go back to the root *h₂er- ('to fit together') behind the body-part arm.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/arm (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).