raise/sound the alarm meaning, raise/sound the alarm definition | English Cobuild dictionary



  ( alarms    plural & 3rd person present)   ( alarming    present participle)   ( alarmed    past tense & past participle  )
1       n-uncount   Alarm is a feeling of fear or anxiety that something unpleasant or dangerous might happen.  
oft with/in N, N over/about n  
The news was greeted with alarm by MPs...     
2       verb   If something alarms you, it makes you afraid or anxious that something unpleasant or dangerous might happen.   (=frighten)  
We could not see what had alarmed him.      V n  
3       n-count   An alarm is an automatic device that warns you of danger, for example by ringing a bell.  
He heard the alarm go off.     
4       n-count   An alarm is the same as an alarm clock.  
    burglar alarm  
    car alarm  
    false alarm  
    fire alarm  
    smoke alarm  
6    If you say that something sets alarm bells ringing, you mean that it makes people feel worried or concerned about something.  
alarm bells      phrase   N inflects  
7    If you raise the alarm or sound the alarm, you warn people of danger.  
raise/sound the alarm             phrase   V inflects  
His family raised the alarm when he had not come home by 9pm.     
Translation English - Cobuild Collins Dictionary  
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