Dictionary

To take by the arm; to take up in one's arms.

To supply with armour or (later especially) weapons.

Example: The king armed his knights with swords and shields.

To prepare a tool or a weapon for action; to activate.

Example: Remember to arm the alarm system before leaving for work.

To cover or furnish with a plate, or with whatever will add strength, force, security, or efficiency.

Example: to arm the hit of a sword; to arm a hook in angling

To furnish with means of defence; to prepare for resistance; to fortify, in a moral sense.

A piece of tallow or soap put in the cavity and over the bottom of a sounding lead to pick up samples of the bottom of the sea.

The act of supplying with arms and ammunition in preparation of a conflict

(chiefly in the plural) One of the red dress cloths formerly hung fore and aft outside of a ship's upper works on holidays.