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at arm's length

arm
A a

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [ahrm]
    • /ɑrm/
    • /ət ˈɑːmz leŋθ/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [ahrm]
    • /ɑrm/

Definitions of at arm's length words

  • phrase at arm's length If you hold something at arm's length, you hold it away from your body with your arm straight. 3
  • noun at arm's length at a distance; away from familiarity with or subjection to another 3
  • noun at arm's length at a distance emotionally so as to avoid intimacy, the appearance of favoritism, etc. 3
  • noun at arm's length the upper limb of the human body, especially the part extending from the shoulder to the wrist. 1
  • noun at arm's length the upper limb from the shoulder to the elbow. 1
  • noun at arm's length the forelimb of any vertebrate. 1
See all 28 definitions of at arm's length

Information block about the term

Origin of at arm's length

First appearance:

before 900
One of the 4% oldest English words
before 900; Middle English; Old English earm; cognate with Gothic arms, Old Norse armr, Old Frisian erm, Dutch, Old Saxon, Old High German arm (German Arm) arm; Latin armus, Serbo-Croatian rȁme, rȁmo shoulder; akin to Sanskrit īrmá, Avestan arəma-, OPruss irmo arm; not akin to Latin arma arm2

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for At arm's length

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of At arm's length

at arm's length popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 100% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

See also

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