armed

The word “armed” means carrying or equipped with a weapon. In plain terms, carrying a weapon, or more broadly, equipped and ready with something (information, tools, a system).

“Armed” is pronounced ahmd (/ɑɹmd/ in IPA).

Here is “armed” used in a sentence: “Armed police guarded the entrance to the building.”

“Armed” is an adjective.

“Armed” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Armed” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: carrying or equipped with a weapon.

'Armed' means carrying or equipped with a weapon; 'unarmed' means having no weapon at all. The distinction matters in law and policing, where an armed suspect is treated very differently from an unarmed one, and in the military, where armed forces are equipped for combat.

'Armed' is often used figuratively to mean equipped or prepared with something useful — 'armed with the facts', 'armed with a good umbrella'. It can also describe something made ready to operate, such as an armed alarm or a device that has been set to activate.

An armed guard carries a weapon while on duty, and a country's armed forces are its military. Figuratively, a lawyer walking into court armed with evidence is well prepared rather than carrying a weapon. The word signals being equipped — usually with arms, sometimes with knowledge or tools.