unarmed

adjective un·armed \ ˌən-ˈärmd \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of unarmed

1 : not armed or armored

unarmed civilians

; also : not using or involving a weapon

unarmed robbery

2 : having no hard and sharp projections (such as spines, spurs, or claws)

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Recent Examples of unarmed from the Web

The temporary order comes as footage from a police body camera captured someone telling officers to mute their body cameras last month after police fatally shot Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man in his grandmother's backyard.

— darran simon, CNN, "Sacramento police issue new rules on muting body cameras," 11 Apr. 2018
The Latest on the fatal shooting of Stephon Clark (all times local): 7 p.m. Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn says more video of last month's shooting of an unarmed black man will be released within a week.

— Fox News, "The Latest: Sacramento police to release more shooting video," 10 Apr. 2018
In 2015, the city paid out $2.25 million to the family of Jonathan Ferrell, an unarmed Charlotte man who was shot nine times in a confrontation with three officers.

— michael gordon, charlotteobserver, "Jury finds negligence in police shooting of Charlotte man, awards family $100,000 | Charlotte Observer," 10 Apr. 2018
On March 18 in Sacramento, Calif., officers fatally shot an unarmed, 22-year-old black man, Stephon Clark, who was holding an object police believed to be a gun.

— zolan kanno-youngs, WSJ, "Attorney General Opens Probe into Fatal Shooting by Police in Crown Heights," 5 Apr. 2018
But the number of unarmed black men killed has dropped in the wake of increasingly ubiquitous body cams and justice reforms initiated by the Obama Department of Justice.

— patrik jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, "Fifty years after King, Atlantans see a dream still deferred," 4 Apr. 2018
This week alone, protests continue in Sacramento, Calif., after the March killing of Stephon Clark, 22, an unarmed black man who was shot by police eight times, six in the back.

— valerie russ, Philly.com, "It's been 50 years since Martin Luther King Jr. was killed. Are things better or worse?," 3 Apr. 2018
Stephon Clark, the unarmed black man who was killed by Sacramento police in his grandmother's backyard, was shot eight times from behind or the side, according to a private autopsy commissioned by his family.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Stephon Clark was shot 8 times from behind or side, family-ordered autopsy says," 30 Mar. 2018
The protests were in response to the shooting death of 22-year-old Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man fatally wounded by police March 18 in his grandmother’s backyard.

— clifton brown, Indianapolis Star, "After Stephon Clark shooting in Sacramento, Pacers land amidst 'terrible situation'," 28 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unarmed.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of unarmed

14th century

UNARMED Defined for English Language Learners

unarmed

adjective

Definition of unarmed for English Language Learners

: not having a weapon : not armed
: not using or involving a weapon

UNARMED Defined for Kids

unarmed

adjective un·armed \ ˌən-ˈärmd \

Definition of unarmed for Students

: having no weapons or armor

Medical Dictionary

unarmed

adjective un·armed \ ˌən-ˈärmd \

medical Definition of unarmed

: having no arms or armlike projections

an unarmed tapeworm

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unarmed

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