coat of arms

noun phrase

1

: a tabard or surcoat embroidered with armorial bearings

2

a

: heraldic bearings (as of a person) usually depicted on an escutcheon often with accompanying adjuncts (such as a crest, motto, and supporters)

b

: a similar symbolic emblem

Examples of coat of arms in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lucy Derwent of Rockford won a $25 prize (almost $800 in today’s dollars) from the Daughters of the American Revolution for her design of a state flag for Illinois — a field of blue on which a circle of white bears the state’s coat of arms. —Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2025

Even the hotel’s visual identity–incorporating the Earl of Mar’s coat of arms–is subtly embossed on everything from breakfast waffles to cocktail mats and the chocolate cake in Mar Hall’s signature Afternoon Tea. —Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025

The £5 piece also includes Princess Anne's official coat of arms. —Meredith Kile, People.com, 18 July 2025

Icons of lineage decorated the landscape in the form of gravestones in cemeteries and the king’s coat of arms on public buildings. —Karin Wulf, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cote of armes, translation of Middle French cote d'armes

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for coat of arms

• firearms
• alarms
• disarms
• forearms
• gendarmes
• charms
• farms
• harms

Kids Definition

coat of arms

: the heraldic arms belonging to a person, family, or group or a representation of these (as on a shield)