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alarm

From Wiktionary
alarm is on the Academic Word List.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Singular
alarm

Plural
alarms

A fire alarm
An alarm clock
  1. (countable) An alarm is a signal that something needs attention or a machine that makes the signal.
    I wake up, without an alarm clock, at seven or eight a.m.
    People in the restaurant ran out the emergency exit, sounding the alarm.
    The safety system was known to be defective and had frequently sent out false alarms.
    The hotel did not have fire alarms or a sprinkler system.
    A fire in the fry pan set off the smoke alarm.
  2. (uncountable) Alarm is a feeling of worry or fear.
    They watched with some alarm as the speeding car got closer.
    This is completely natural and no cause for alarm.

Synonyms

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Verb

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Plain form
alarm

Third-person singular
alarms

Past tense
alarmed

Past participle
alarmed

Present participle
alarming

  1. (transitive) If you alarm someone, you make them feel worried or scared.
    The school was alarmed by the number of children failing math.