Meaning & use
rearm
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitivemilitary
To supply a person, group or country with weapons again.
Grammar: Can take an object (rearm the army) or stand alone (the country began to rearm).
Patterns
- rearm someone
- rearm with something
The country decided to rearm its army after the invasion.
Rebels rearmed with weapons smuggled across the border.
Several nations began to rearm during the 1930s.
verbtransitivetechnical
To load a weapon, trap or security system with ammunition or a trigger so it is ready to use again.
Grammar: Takes an object: rearm the alarm.
Patterns
- rearm something
The guard rearmed the alarm before he locked the door.
Engineers had to rearm the missile launchers after the test.
He rearmed the trap and left it near the shed.
Word forms
| third person singular | rearms |
|---|---|
| past tense | rearmed |
| past participle | rearmed |
| -ing form | rearming |
Common combinations
- rearm the military
- The president promised to rearm the military.
- rearm quickly
- The group rearmed quickly after the ceasefire.
- rearm with modern weapons
- The army hopes to rearm with modern weapons.
- rearm an alarm
- Don't forget to rearm the alarm at night.
Synonyms and how they differ
- remilitarize
- Remilitarize usually refers to a region or country building up forces again, while rearm focuses on supplying weapons.
- rebuild
- Rebuild is far wider and need not involve weapons, whereas rearm always does.
- resupply
- Resupply may involve any goods, while rearm concerns weapons and ammunition.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: rearm or rearm vs reform?
rearm vs rearm vs reform
Reform means to improve or change the way something is organized. Rearm only means to supply weapons again.
Practice
After the war, the country had to ___ because its stocks of weapons were almost empty.
Choose one answer.
Rearm means to supply weapons again. Disarm means the opposite, and reform and relax do not describe getting weapons.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rearm”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.