darned; darning; darns
1
: to mend with interlacing stitches
2
: to embroider by filling in with long running or interlacing stitches
: to do darning
darner
noun
Synonyms
Examples of darn in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
PCMAG, 13 Sep. 2023
Sure, there’s already Halloween candy in the grocery store and school buses on the roads — but darn it: the first day of fall isn’t until Sept. 23.
—Lauren Daley, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Aug. 2023
Bieber kept her cinnamon cookie butter bob (which appears to be freshly trimmed—little refresh moment, á la Zendaya?) parted on the side, because side parts will never die, Gen Z be darned!
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 28 Aug. 2023
But he was still darned impressive Saturday, landing his falsettos, massaging his lines with elegant expressiveness and guiding his famous high tenor like a feather on a breeze.
—Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 6 Aug. 2023
Buchholz was darned good, finishing sixth in the American League Cy Young voting in 2010 (17-7, 2.33 ERA, league-best 187 adjusted ERA) and going 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA in 16 starts for the ‘13 champs.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 14 July 2023
The man would summon his elderly former nanny every time Teddy needed to be darned or re-stitched.
—Monica Hesse, Washington Post, 5 May 2023
Her latest obsession is darning.
—Carina Chocano, Harper's BAZAAR, 23 Mar. 2023
It’s darned artistic.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Mar. 2023
Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2023
Eat your own darn meal.
—Emily Heil, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2023
Peters is blatant and just doesn’t give a darn.
—Mike Preston, baltimoresun.com, 10 Aug. 2021
Not the restart-the-darn-thing kind of trouble.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 June 2021
There are awards for darn-near every position on the field, for coaches, too, and the number of preseason nominees for each varies from a lot to a whole lot.
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Aug. 2022
Why anybody gives a gosh-darn about any of this is one of the many mysteries viewers must contemplate.
—oregonlive, 17 Aug. 2022
Through its long and glorious history, Field & Stream has had a strict antiprofanity policy, save for the occasional darn or drat.
—David E. Petzal, Field & Stream, 21 Dec. 2020
Still, the Bears coach sensed an upbeat mood and a give-a-darn from his players that felt encouraging.
—Dan Wiederer, chicagotribune.com, 13 Dec. 2020
Peter Debruge, Variety, 17 Aug. 2023
With a dummy-simple manual top, good styling, and a drivetrain that only needs a little more punch to be perfect, the Cabrio is a darn fine choice.
—Dick Kelley, Car and Driver, 27 July 2023
The team with the second-highest payroll in baseball, and sitting last in the AL East, didn’t do a darn thing.
—Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 2 Aug. 2023
Yes, but that darn grass — that classic surface on which three of the four Grand Slam tournaments used to be contested — has virtually disappeared from the sport.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 8 July 2023
The Tony Awards were on Sunday and naturally, trying to stream the whole show was a darn mess, with some of it broadcast on CBS, some on Paramount+ Premium and much of the pre-show on Pluto TV.
—Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2023
Running for a specific reason is pretty darn motivating.
—Madeline Howard, Women's Health, 27 Jan. 2023
The darn snow is finally gone and there shouldn’t be any more frosts until October.
—Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 25 May 2023
Breezes are pretty darn tame, too. Today: Partly sunny.
—A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2022
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Verb
That's darned fast, considering that the average quick scan time for recent Mac antivirus programs is about 6 minutes.
—PCMAG, 13 Sep. 2023
Sure, there’s already Halloween candy in the grocery store and school buses on the roads — but darn it: the first day of fall isn’t until Sept. 23.
—Lauren Daley, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Aug. 2023
Bieber kept her cinnamon cookie butter bob (which appears to be freshly trimmed—little refresh moment, á la Zendaya?) parted on the side, because side parts will never die, Gen Z be darned!
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 28 Aug. 2023
But he was still darned impressive Saturday, landing his falsettos, massaging his lines with elegant expressiveness and guiding his famous high tenor like a feather on a breeze.
—Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 6 Aug. 2023
Buchholz was darned good, finishing sixth in the American League Cy Young voting in 2010 (17-7, 2.33 ERA, league-best 187 adjusted ERA) and going 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA in 16 starts for the ‘13 champs.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 14 July 2023
The man would summon his elderly former nanny every time Teddy needed to be darned or re-stitched.
—Monica Hesse, Washington Post, 5 May 2023
Her latest obsession is darning.
—Carina Chocano, Harper's BAZAAR, 23 Mar. 2023
It’s darned artistic.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Mar. 2023
Noun
Not this year, due to the strike that almost torpedoed the whole darn shebang.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2023
Eat your own darn meal.
—Emily Heil, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2023
Peters is blatant and just doesn’t give a darn.
—Mike Preston, baltimoresun.com, 10 Aug. 2021
Not the restart-the-darn-thing kind of trouble.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 June 2021
There are awards for darn-near every position on the field, for coaches, too, and the number of preseason nominees for each varies from a lot to a whole lot.
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Aug. 2022
Why anybody gives a gosh-darn about any of this is one of the many mysteries viewers must contemplate.
—oregonlive, 17 Aug. 2022
Through its long and glorious history, Field & Stream has had a strict antiprofanity policy, save for the occasional darn or drat.
—David E. Petzal, Field & Stream, 21 Dec. 2020
Still, the Bears coach sensed an upbeat mood and a give-a-darn from his players that felt encouraging.
—Dan Wiederer, chicagotribune.com, 13 Dec. 2020
Adjective or adverb
What doesn’t work is that darn magic subplot, or the boring romance between Merlin and lifelong bestie Robin (Raigan Harris), who comes back from Juilliard with a new beau, Blaze (Ryan Alexander Holmes), a viral prank-video phenom whose proposal dashes Merlin’s hopes of marrying Robin himself.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 17 Aug. 2023
With a dummy-simple manual top, good styling, and a drivetrain that only needs a little more punch to be perfect, the Cabrio is a darn fine choice.
—Dick Kelley, Car and Driver, 27 July 2023
The team with the second-highest payroll in baseball, and sitting last in the AL East, didn’t do a darn thing.
—Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 2 Aug. 2023
Yes, but that darn grass — that classic surface on which three of the four Grand Slam tournaments used to be contested — has virtually disappeared from the sport.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 8 July 2023
The Tony Awards were on Sunday and naturally, trying to stream the whole show was a darn mess, with some of it broadcast on CBS, some on Paramount+ Premium and much of the pre-show on Pluto TV.
—Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2023
Running for a specific reason is pretty darn motivating.
—Madeline Howard, Women's Health, 27 Jan. 2023
The darn snow is finally gone and there shouldn’t be any more frosts until October.
—Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 25 May 2023
Breezes are pretty darn tame, too. Today: Partly sunny.
—A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2022
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'darn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb (1)
perhaps from French dialect darner
Adjective or adverb
euphemism
First Known Use
Verb (1)
circa 1600, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Noun (1)
1720, in the meaning defined above
Adjective Or Adverb
1781, in the meaning defined above
Verb (2)
1781, in the meaning defined above
Noun (2)
1840, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing darn
Dictionary Entries Near darn
Cite this Entry
“Darn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/darn. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
darn
1 of 4 verb
: to mend with interlacing stitches
darn socks
darn
2 of 4 noun
: a place that has been darned
darn
4 of 4 noun
: damn entry 2 sense 2
not worth a darn
More from Merriam-Webster on darn
Nglish: Translation of darn for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of darn for Arabic Speakers
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