What does arm mean

Crossword clues for arm

arm

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

arm

I.noun

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a chair leg/arm/back/seat

▪ The chair leg has broken.

an armed attack

▪ Armed attacks against Israeli settlements are on the increase.

an armed clash (=involving the use of weapons)

▪ The violence could soon become armed clashes and even a war.

an armed convoy (=carrying weapons)

▪ a heavily armed convoy of three vehicles

an armed gang (=with guns)

▪ An armed gang stole jewels worth more than five million pounds.

an armed terrorist

▪ They were gunned down by armed terrorists outside their hotel.

an arms embargo (=one that stops weapons being sold or sent to a country)

▪ Ministers knew that the arms embargo was being broken.

an arms/weapons deal (=one which involves selling weapons)

▪ A number of recent arms deals have embarrassed the government.

arm candy

▪ He had just invited me along as arm candy.

armed forces

Armed guards

▪ Armed guards were posted by the exit.

armed insurrection

▪ an armed insurrection against the party in power

armed police

▪ Armed police surrounded the house.

armed rebellion

▪ This injustice has produced armed rebellion.

armed revolt (=one in which weapons are used)

▪ Somalis living just across the Ethiopian border rose up in armed revolt.

armed robbery (=robbery using a gun)

▪ He received a 10 year prison sentence for armed robbery.

armed uprising

▪ an armed uprising

arm/leg/stomach etc muscles

▪ Her leg muscles ached after the run.

arms cache

▪ a large arms cache

arms control

arms control (=control of the amount of weapons a country has)

▪ an agreement on arms control

arms race

▪ the nuclear arms race

arms reduction

▪ They held talks about further arms reductions.

arms/oil/drug etc shipment

▪ an illegal arms shipment

as long as your arm (=a very long list)

▪ He owes money to a list of people as long as your arm.

babe in arms (=one that has to be carried)

be armed with a knife (=have it with you)

▪ One of the men was armed with a knife.

be under (police/armed etc) guard (=to be guarded by a group of people)

▪ He was taken to hospital, where he is now under police guard.

chance...arm (=take a risk by doing something which may fail)

▪ She’d never played before, but she was ready to chance her arm.

clasp sb/sth in your hands/arms

▪ She clasped the photograph in her hands.

clasp your hands/arms around/behind sth

▪ Fenella leaned forward, clasping her hands around her knees.

coat of arms

comrade in arms

cost an arm and a leg (=have a price that is much too high)

▪ A skiing holiday needn’t cost you an arm and a leg.

flung...arms

▪ She flung her arms round Louise.

fracture your leg/arm/hip etc

▪ He fractured his right leg during training.

heavily armed

▪ thousands of heavily armed troops

hold sth in your hand/arms

▪ He was holding a knife in one hand.

▪ I held the baby in my arms.

hug your knees/arms/legs etc

▪ Sarah sat on the floor, hugging her knees.

hurt your arm/leg/nose etc

▪ He hurt his knee playing football.

lay down...arms

▪ The terrorists were urged to lay down their arms.

lift your hand/arm/leg etc

▪ She lifted her hand to knock on the door once again.

▪ Pam lifted her shoulders in a little shrug.

linking arms (=putting his arm around her arm)

▪ He walked with her, linking arms.

lose an arm/leg/eye etc

▪ He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident.

military/violent/armed confrontation

▪ Japan seemed unlikely to risk military confrontation with Russia.

nuclear arms race

▪ the nuclear arms race

outstretched arms/hands/fingers

▪ She ran to meet them with outstretched arms.

poke sb in the eye/arm/ribs etc

▪ Be careful with that umbrella or you’ll poke someone in the eye.

sb’s good eye/arm/leg etc (=the one that is not damaged)

▪ He sat up, supporting himself on his good arm.

slender legs/arms/fingers etc

stab sb in the heart/arm etc

▪ She had been stabbed in the chest repeatedly.

strategic arms/weapons (=weapons designed to reach an enemy country from your own)

▪ strategic nuclear missiles

tap sb on the shoulder/arm/chest etc

▪ He turned as someone tapped him on the shoulder.

the armed forces (=a country’s military organizations, including the army, navy, and air force)

▪ Israel refused to withdraw its armed forces from the area.

the arms/timber/book etc trade

▪ Britain is heavily involved in the arms trade.

the long arm of the law

▪ He won’t escape the long arm of the law.

thin arms/legs/lips etc

▪ He has long thin hands.

tie sb’s hands/arms/legs/feet

▪ One of them tied her hands behind her back.

touch sb on the arm/leg etc

▪ A hand touched her on the shoulder.

welcomed...with open arms (=in a very friendly way)

▪ His family welcomed me with open arms.

welcome...with open arms

▪ We would welcome any advice or suggestions with open arms.

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADJECTIVE

broken

▪ This patient I have to see is a monkey with a suspected broken arm.

▪ He'd been hit by a car three weeks before, and he had a broken arm and pelvis.

▪ The schoolboy sent back to class with a broken arm.

▪ They stepped forward, and raised Chant by his broken arms.

▪ The boy with the broken arm had fainted once; now he was sitting against a wall, crying.

▪ Its tail dangled useless, like the broken arm of a bendy rubber doll.

▪ Bernice could see Thomas trying to prise his hands apart, but his broken arm proved to be a burden.

▪ Along with the souvenirs, he brought home a reminder of a broken arm.

left

▪ His left arm was jammed tight against the side of the seat.

▪ I was tired by the time I got home and my left arm ached.

▪ Yes, my left arm was trapped.

▪ As much as his left arm, Estes has used his leveled head to get him to the All- Star Game.

▪ Her left arm was locked to her side, because her shoulder was extremely painful.

▪ With his left arm he gave Billie a clumsy and rather inebriated embrace, and tipped his glass to Albert.

▪ She would scream if anyone came near her left arm, and she cried at night, begging for painkillers.

▪ His own place was represented by a tattoo he wore on his left arm.

long

▪ The long slender arms are flexible, unlike the starfish shown previously.

▪ Five minutes passed and several police cars careened by. long black arms swung threateningly at the parked cars.

▪ The disk is usually scaled, the arms are very long and the arm spines are short and erect.

▪ She walks down the line, awkwardly hugging each player with her long, bony arms.

▪ The dorsal arm spines are the longest nearly two arm segments in length, the ventral arm spines are much shorter.

▪ Rufus had impossibly long arms with the same type of musculature as Hector and Mr Lewis.

▪ Their long arms are particularly well adapted to life in trees.

▪ They are tall and lean, with long arms and explosive quickness.

open

▪ He greeted Riley with open arms.

▪ You walk in here and you expect to be welcomed with open arms.

▪ Did I welcome him with open arms?

▪ Not that the profession was necessarily going to welcome me into the fold with open arms.

▪ And if the turnout was any indication, the parish was welcoming them with open arms.

▪ Now we welcome death with open arms, especially when we are old.

right

▪ Reach out and slowly lift the right arm and left leg off the floor, keeping the movement controlled.

▪ She had survived polio, but her right leg was weak and deformed, and her right arm dangled loosely.

▪ In addition, any weaver caught using illegally dyed yarns could be sentenced to having his right arm cut off.

▪ He lifts his right arm with his left hand to put his elbow on a table.

▪ At fifty-five or sixty degrees he had to brace his right arm against his leg in order to fight the roll.

▪ Serrin was treated for smoke inhalation and burns on his right arm and was listed in serious condition in a Gloucester hospital.

▪ The right training, the right arms, everything that's coming to the surface now.

▪ Out of the corner of my eye I saw him strike out with his right arm and catch Dweetz across the neck.

small

▪ The rapid spread of small arms and light weapons facilitate the recruitment of child soldiers.

▪ Several Third World countries have themselves become suppliers of small arms for such conflicts.

▪ The event is aimed at reducing the carnage caused by the worldwide stockpile of 550m small arms.

▪ At that point, small arms and automatic weapons opened up.

▪ The consensus is that the Kiev government has tightened controls over the small arms trade in recent months.

▪ Billie was so small in his arms, his heart broke for her smallness.

▪ Her frame was small, her arms looked frail and very white against the raw silk.

▪ The round had not landed before small-arms fire broke out all around the perimeter.

strong

▪ Their faces were too strong, their arms were too thick, their shoulders were wrong.

▪ She walked faster, her strong arms swinging her along.

▪ During the 1953 crisis he had operated literally as the strong arm of his father, General Zahedi.

▪ He told me that short, strong arms were good for a boxer.

▪ Each of them is free to have casual encounters outside the strong arms of their love.

▪ I think he has a good strong arm.

▪ For how are we to bring in the corn harvest with all those strong hands and strong arms gone?

▪ Like Aikman, he owns a strong arm and throws accurately.

upper

▪ Her blouse was scooped so low at the front that it left her shoulders and upper arms bare.

▪ The usual treatment involves application of two patches at bedtime to the upper arms, thighs, or abdomen.

▪ One of its shoulder straps had drooped to her upper arm.

▪ Secure at the wrists and upper arms with the rubber bands.

▪ Stretch the upper arm up and over even further than yesterday.

▪ He touched her shoulder, and her upper arm, and the inside of her elbow.

▪ Lean on your elbow and use the upper arm to support you in front.

▪ It is characterised by unsightly lumps and bumps which collect in the thighs, buttocks, hips and upper arms.

■ NOUN

control

▪ They say that it could erode existing arms control agreements and lead to a new arms race.

▪ Bush made an important speech on arms control policy last week in Washington.

▪ We committed ourselves to arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation and to the conclusion of a chemical weapons convention this year.

▪ The two men meet semiannually on trade, arms control and other security issues.

▪ The later stages of arm control involve lifting the hemiplegic arm and controlling it in space while bending and straightening the elbow.

▪ In the new world, arms sales abroad are a more critical problem than superpower arms control.

▪ There is still work to be done on maritime arms control.

dealer

▪ As with most arms dealers payola - commission or bribes - is the key to his living.

▪ Story: A team of secret agents battles double-crossing spies and arms dealers.

▪ Reconditioned Royal Navy ships were turned into Confederate blockade runners by Clydeside arms dealers.

▪ Merchant banks, sugar companies, arms dealers.

▪ But Bond only had a license to kill - arms dealers have something much more lucrative, as Janice Turner discovered.

▪ First, a media sting operation caught several senior government aides taking bribes from arms dealers.

▪ Not unnaturally it was handed to me, now being officially outside the Ministère and a recognised arms dealer.

embargo

▪ That could include traditional diplomacy, peace-monitoring, the placing of tripwire forces on disputed borders and the policing of arms embargoes.

▪ The story starts in 1985, when Britain put an arms embargo on Saddam's military state.

▪ The deal violated international arms embargoes.

race

▪ They can emphasise the danger of a new arms race.

▪ Further, the arms race between the superpowers has escalated still more.

▪ The potential for a destructive arms race is ever present.

▪ The primary danger of war was the irrational arms race and overly hostile relations between the major military powers.

▪ They say that it could erode existing arms control agreements and lead to a new arms race.

▪ The Soviet Union tested its own hydrogen bomb within a year, and the nuclear arms race escalated further.

sale

▪ Its role in backing arms sales is particularly controversial because government insurance is a form of subsidy.

▪ In the new world, arms sales abroad are a more critical problem than superpower arms control.

▪ The declaration exposed him to accusations of hypocrisy after each revelation of arms sales to dubious regimes.

▪ The Independent of July 16 noted that no agreement had been reached on limiting arms sales.

▪ There must be strict control on arms sales to the region.

■ VERB

bear

▪ The total census of the towns comes to just under 300,000 people of whom some 60,000 were capable of bearing arms.

▪ Frequent prohibitions by the government against the bearing of arms had no effect.

▪ This, though he bore one arm in a rough sling, and looked tired and worried out of his slow mind.

▪ John Hostettler, R-Ind., who once suggested that the constitutional right to bear arms included nuclear weapons; and Rep.

▪ Women who choose to find employment in military institutions want therefore to be allowed to bear arms and to fight.

▪ All civilians possessing army-distributed guns must return them and undergo physical and psychological tests to determine their fitness to bear arms.

▪ There is no constitutional right to bear arms.

▪ The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed by law.

break

▪ Six had minor gunshot wounds, the seventh had tripped over a fallen tree and broken an arm.

▪ Next to Billy was little Paul Lazzaro with a broken arm. he was fizzing with rabies.

▪ He must've broken the other arm because the next day he had both arms in plaster.

▪ My husband suffered a broken arm and severe head injuries.

▪ According to hearsay, Bez had managed to break his arm - twice.

▪ Now with broken arm and gory leg he sits sighing and weeping with pain.

▪ I ended up having a fight with him, he broke my arm and I got hit on the head.

▪ Scabbards, broken arms, artillery horses, wrecks of gun carriages, and bloody garments strewed the scene.

cross

▪ If you aren't using flags, cross your arms in front of your body with your right hand clasped over the left.

▪ I laughed, crossed my arms, looked upward again.

▪ Turning off the tape, he lay on the bottom bunk and crossed his arms under his head.

▪ Cantor had been sitting in one corner, legs casually crossed, one arm thrown over the back of the sofa.

▪ Meanwhile - and he crossed his arms as it to underline the point - nobody gets in and nobody gets out.

▪ Still with your arms straight, flex your hands and cross your arms low in front of you, hands together.

▪ Every week we practice leaving our desks quickly, crossing our arms over our heads, lying still on the classroom floor.

fold

▪ She stands back, folds her arms, waits for the message to sink in.

▪ Pat got into the car, buckled the seat belt, folded her arms tight to her chest.

▪ The girl sobs with relief, folding her arms in a fleshy nest on the table top to cry into.

▪ He got the feeling that she folded her arms not to hide herself but as a natural aid to thinking.

▪ The sister folded her arms and shook her head.

▪ Tom folded his arms, put a pleasant expression on his face, and did not try to talk any more.

▪ They fold their arms when they should lift their hand in wrath.

▪ Banjo folded his arms across the front of his Mac West, scowling, not looking at Connors.

hold

▪ He was still holding my arm but there was space between us.

▪ And as for recalling those moments of being held in his arms ... she'd be wise to forget them.

▪ Mr Barraza spent three months teaching me how to stand and move and how to hold my arms with gloves on.

▪ He held out one fat arm and tried to catch a seagull flying low.

▪ Grieving families hold their children in their memories and in their hearts, but no longer can hold them in their arms.

▪ The girl on the right of Lizzy held out her arms and the child tottered towards her.

▪ He would hold her in his arms.

lift

▪ Reach out and slowly lift the right arm and left leg off the floor, keeping the movement controlled.

▪ Ace hadn't consciously lifted her arm and fired the suit's built-in blaster.

▪ A man at port lifted his arm one way and a second at starboard lifted his another.

▪ He lifted one sinewy arm to wave.

▪ Every feather in her boa fluttered and caressed as she lifted her arm and her glass.

▪ Annie lifted me in her arms so I could look down.

link

▪ Lady Isabella linked her arm through his.

▪ Julia Patterson as she linked arms with two other senators and escaped down the marble stairs.

▪ Madeleine linked her arm into Louis's.

▪ The two-minute video shows the protesters casually entering the office before linking arms through the tubes.

▪ Margaret linked her arm through mine and we walked to the zebra-crossing.

▪ Athelstan linked his arm through that of the coroner and they carefully made their way down Cheapside.

▪ Outside in the street Maggie linked arms with Laura.

▪ He walked between us, linking arms.

raise

▪ Do 20 walking jogs, raising the arms up and down.Then jog properly for as long as possible.

▪ Then she raised her arms like a victorious swimmer, stretched toward the ceiling, and came back.

▪ With hands interlinked behind, raise the arms 30 times.

▪ He sat me up and raised my arms over my head again and again.

▪ He half raised his arm to draw her attention, and thought better of it.

▪ Suppose that a prefrontal patient is in bed with his arms under the covers and you ask him to raise his arm.

▪ Inevitably, he raised his arm and pulled her down, so that their lips met.

▪ Shooter Brian Evans can barely raise his ailing arm.

stretch

▪ Now push and stretch that arm just a little further and hold for 1 second.

▪ I could stretch both arms toward the sides of the chamber without touching them.

▪ He stretched out his arms but had no room to manoeuvre.

▪ Denver stretches out her right arm and takes a step or two.

▪ He then stretches out his arms and attempts to grab the sole of each foot.

▪ In her sleep Alcyone moaned and stretched her arms out to clasp him.

▪ Mr Montesinos's influence stretched into every arm of public life.

▪ Manshin Anjima stretched her arms above her head, then began to braid her sparse hair.

take

▪ As you do so, take your arms up and then down to rest on the floor above your head.

▪ Father stood and took her arm.

▪ She took his arm firmly, just above the elbow, and jerked him half way off his stool.

▪ They may even locally have taken up arms for the Cathar cause.

▪ Evans had taken Gwen's arm to help her circumnavigate a frozen puddle.

▪ Bobby took my arm and steered me toward the men.

▪ Stand with feet comfortably apart and take your arms out to the sides.

▪ Sarah clapped abstractedly when he finished and took him by the arm.

twist

▪ So me Dad twists his arm a bit, like.

▪ He twisted her arm behind her back and kicked her hard.

▪ Anger gave her an added surge of strength, and she twisted her arm sharply downwards and broke his grip.

▪ He knew how to get along with people, how to twist arms without causing fractures.

▪ Rhythmically twist both arms over and back, over and back.

▪ How many times can the shoe companies twist the arms of their stars to keep them coming to the Olympics?

▪ It would seek to twist Government's arm to ensure that appropriate management was bought in.

▪ One of the owners grabbed him, another twisted my arm behind my back.

wave

▪ Kip waved his arm down, without looking back.-I want to know what your cause is, man.

▪ I put the bracelet on and waved my arm to show them.

▪ The figures moved around them, waving their arms in a coordinated movement towards each other.

▪ Can you read me?... Wave your arms if you can hear me...

▪ He stepped out into the road and waved his arms.

▪ He waved his arms and the cheers grew.

wrap

▪ At least he clung to me and let me wrap my arms around him.

▪ Isabel shuddered at the memory and wrapped her arms about her waist.

▪ She jumped in, wrapping her arms around him.

▪ The pain in the region of her heart was so intense that she wrapped her arms around herself involuntarily.

▪ She undid the clasp and wrapped her arms around him.

▪ He dropped the soap and wrapped his arms around her, they slid against each other, their skin slippery and sensual.

▪ After handing her his bundle, he reached back and wrapped his arms around the back of her knees.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

(with) arms akimbo

▪ Anatole stood arms akimbo, challenging me.

▪ Arms akimbo, she made herself ready for battle.

▪ Aunt Bedelia stood at the gate with her arms akimbo, then Otley and Elinor joined her.

▪ He stood, arms akimbo, looking around in the musty gloom.

▪ I half wanted him to fall, legs and arms akimbo, flowers drifting down after him.

▪ It was accompanied by a photograph of Blufton standing - arms akimbo - in front of a grey smudge of masonry.

▪ Meanwhile, a silhouetted figure floats in the distance, arms akimbo.

▪ That's Aunt Bedelia with her arms akimbo again.

a shot in the arm

▪ The new factory will give the local economy a real shot in the arm.

▪ Coming back will be a shot in the arm.

▪ In 1922 it received a shot in the arm through a large subsidy from the Central Committee.

▪ It now had the effect of a shot in the arm.

▪ It was like a shot in the arm for us, and our tiredness fell away.

▪ On the Conservative side, the decision of Callaghan not to hold an election came as a shot in the arm.

brothers in arms

fold sb in your arms

▪ Lee went to her and folded her in his arms.

fold your arms

▪ George stood silently with his arms folded.

▪ Banjo folded his arms across the front of his Mac West, scowling, not looking at Connors.

▪ But the moment passed and the Robemaker had folded his arms, the deep sleeves hanging down.

▪ Denver climbed up on the bed and folded her arms under her apron.

▪ He folded his arms, admiring the two glittering rings on his right hand.

▪ He got the feeling that she folded her arms not to hide herself but as a natural aid to thinking.

▪ Mr Bumble put down his hat, unbuttoned his coat, folded his arms, and sat back in his chair.

▪ Ruthie folded her arms, as if to emphasize her lack of responsibility for the shop she was minding.

▪ The woman folded her arms and became silent in a way that swept Lois with feelings of admiration.

in the arms of Morpheus

lock arms

▪ Fifty students locked arms to block the entrance to the building.

▪ This is not to say that Brownmiller has written a sanguine portrait of sisters locking arms in struggle.

melt into sb's arms/embrace

▪ Would they melt into each other's arms?

present arms

press sb's hand/arm

put your hand/foot/arm out

▪ Everyone puts his hand out, from cabinet ministers to loan underwriters.

▪ He put his hand out and there was Lily, quiet and warm beside him.

▪ He put his hand out, touching his father's cheek.

▪ Minna put her hands out and I handed her the divorce.

▪ She tottered, and put her arms out.

▪ Vern put his hand out this time.

▪ When she put her hand out, trying to rise, she skittled a row of bottles.

shoulder arms

small arms

▪ At that point, small arms and automatic weapons opened up.

▪ Several Third World countries have themselves become suppliers of small arms for such conflicts.

▪ That does not include heaps of smaller arms and ammunition.

▪ The consensus is that the Kiev government has tightened controls over the small arms trade in recent months.

▪ The rebels have put up fierce resistance with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

▪ Then he opened up with small arms.

the crook of your arm

▪ He carried his jacket in the crook of his arm.

▪ Carey stood up, the fish held in the crook of his arm, as you would hold an infant.

▪ His ripped jacket was draped over the crook of his arm.

▪ Mortified, she turned her face and hid it in the crook of her arm.

▪ One of them was cradling a sub-machine-gun in the crook of his arm.

▪ Thérèse clasped the biscuit tin in the crook of her arm.

▪ The army ride round in jeeps, rifles in the crooks of their arms.

▪ When he returned, he was carrying four good-sized rocks in the crook of his arm.

▪ With a big sign she lay her head in the crook of his arm and closed her eyes.

the long arm of sb/sth

▪ How far are you prepared to stretch the long arm of coincidence?

▪ I managed two months at large before I felt the long arm of the law on my shoulder once again.

▪ Oct-11a is located in a region of mouse chromosome 9 homologous with the long arm of human chromosome 11.

▪ Roy tries an overhead pass, but the long arm of a Stanford player plucks it out of the air.

▪ The old woman has turned into the long arm of her family.

twist sb's arm

▪ "Go on, have another drink." "Oh well, if you twist my arm."

▪ I'm sure he would never have come if I hadn't twisted his arm a little.

▪ We had to twist her arm to get her to come.

welcome/greet sb/sth with open arms

▪ And if the turnout was any indication, the parish was welcoming them with open arms.

▪ Did I welcome him with open arms?

▪ He greeted Riley with open arms.

▪ He welcomed them with open arms, talked freely, played draughts with the younger and learned tables from the elder.

▪ Mind, I welcomed them with open arms because it meant I could stay off school.

▪ Now we welcome death with open arms, especially when we are old.

▪ Would you welcome them with open arms?

would give anything/a lot/your right arm etc for sth

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

▪ Dana has a broken arm.

▪ Epson America is the United States marketing arm of a Japanese company.

▪ Jens' mother put her arms around him.

▪ Pat was carrying a large box under his arm.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

▪ He died in the arms of a passing motorist.

▪ He tore past the carousels, raced around columns and flew back into my arms.

▪ Later yet we are herded down to the basement, told to crouch and to cover our heads with our arms.

▪ Soon she would lie down in the arms of a stronger lover than Tom would ever be and fall asleep.

▪ The declaration exposed him to accusations of hypocrisy after each revelation of arms sales to dubious regimes.

▪ The lateral arm plates also carry a series of long bristle-like spines, dorsal to the arm spines.

▪ There are 5 short arm spines, the longest is scarcely equal in length to one segment.

▪ Thwarted, he then embraced her stiffly before taking the baby in his arms under the watchful eye of his wife.

II.verb