use-icon

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

use-icon

THE USAGE PANEL

The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.

The Panelists

open-icon

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.

scroll-icon

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.

100-words-icon

See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series!

Find out more!

open-icon

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com

calm (käm)
Share:
adj. calm·er, calm·est
1. Nearly or completely motionless; undisturbed: the calm surface of the lake.
2. Not excited or agitated; composed: The president was calm throughout the global crisis.
n.
1.
a. An absence or cessation of motion; stillness.
b. A condition of no wind or a wind with a speed of less than 1 knot (1.15 miles per hour; 1.9 kilometers per hour), according to the Beaufort scale.
2. Tranquility or serenity: "an unaccustomed reticence that I took to be the calm that follows rage" (Jeanne Marie Laskas).
tr. & intr.v. calmed, calm·ing, calms
To make or become calm or quiet: A warm bath will calm you. After the storm, the air calmed.

[Middle English calme, from Old French, from Old Italian calmo, from Late Latin cauma, heat of the day, resting place in the heat of the day, from Greek kauma, burning heat, from kaiein, to burn. N., from Middle English calme, from Italian calma, from Vulgar Latin *calma, from Late Latin.]

calmly adv.
calmness n.

Synonyms: calm, peaceful, placid, serene, tranquil
These adjectives denote absence of excitement or disturbance: calm acceptance of the inevitable; a peaceful hike through the scenic hills; a soothing, placid temperament; spent a serene, restful weekend at the lake; hoped for a more tranquil life in the country. See Also Synonyms at cool.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.