alarm
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
alarm/əˈlɑːm/
▶noun
- 1 anxious or frightened awareness of danger.
■ a warning of danger.
- 2 a warning sound or device.
- 1 frighten or disturb.
- 2 (be alarmed) be fitted or protected with an alarm.
– derivatives
alarming adjective,
alarmingly adverb.
alarming adjective,
alarmingly adverb.
– origin ME (as exclam. meaning ‘to arms!’): from OFr. alarme, from Ital. allarme, from all' arme!
'alarm' also found in these Oxford entries:
alarm clock
- alarmist
- alarum
- blimey
- clock radio
- cor
- eek
- false alarm
- fire alarm
- five-alarm
- go
- grave
- grief
- hair
- jeepers
- lilt
- panic
- scare
- set
- smoke alarm
- snooze button
- startle
- strike
- tocsin
- tripwire
- uh-oh
- wind
- yelp
- yikes
