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)
Examples of unarmed in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In February 2016, Police Officer Peter Liang was convicted of second-degree manslaughter for fatally shooting an unarmed man in a Brooklyn stairwell.
—
Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 7 Feb. 2026
Sure, the demeaning bigotry cannot be ignored, and the post was just after armed federal agents burst into a hotel room to arrest the unarmed Black journalist Don Lemon, and the National Park Service removed a slavery exhibit in Philadelphia.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 7 Feb. 2026
In fact, Minnesota law mandates that all individuals, armed or unarmed, have a duty to retreat from confrontation or threat.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 6 Feb. 2026
Since then, the Islamic regime’s security forces have used extreme lethal force, including military-grade weapons, against unarmed protesters.
—Hamid Kashani, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unarmed
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 7 Feb. 2026
Sure, the demeaning bigotry cannot be ignored, and the post was just after armed federal agents burst into a hotel room to arrest the unarmed Black journalist Don Lemon, and the National Park Service removed a slavery exhibit in Philadelphia.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 7 Feb. 2026
In fact, Minnesota law mandates that all individuals, armed or unarmed, have a duty to retreat from confrontation or threat.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 6 Feb. 2026
Since then, the Islamic regime’s security forces have used extreme lethal force, including military-grade weapons, against unarmed protesters.
—Hamid Kashani, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unarmed
Cite this Entry
“Unarmed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unarmed. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unarmed
adjective
un·armed
ˌən-ˈärmd 
ˈən-
: not armed or armored
unarmed civilians
also
: not using or involving a weapon
unarmed robbery
Medical Definition
unarmed
adjective
un·armed
ˌən-ˈärmd
: having no arms or armlike projections
an unarmed tapeworm
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
