Armored

How to spell armored

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce armored

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does armored mean?

1. adjectiveEquipped with a protective metal covering, especially against weapons or attack.

Armored in a sentence

• The bank moved the cash in an armored truck under guard.

• The museum displays a fully armored medieval knight.

Where does armored come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin arma, meaning 'weapons' or 'gear for fighting', which gave rise to the verb armare 'to equip with weapons'. From that came the noun armatura, a 'suit of arms or defensive equipment', which passed into Old French as armeure and then armure. English borrowed it in the 1300s as 'armour', the protective metal covering worn by soldiers and later mounted on vehicles and ships. The adjective form simply adds the familiar -ed ending to mean 'fitted with protective covering'. In American spelling the unstressed final syllable lost its u, giving 'armored', whereas British and Canadian usage keeps the older 'armoured'; that quietly dropped u is the very spot writers second-guess.

How the word is built

• armor (protective covering, from Latin arma: weapons/equipment)
• -ed (adjective/past-participle suffix)

British and American spelling

Armored is the American spelling. British English spells it armoured.