darn

1 of 5

verb (1)

darned; darning; darns

transitive verb

1
: to mend with interlacing stitches
2
: to embroider by filling in with long running or interlacing stitches
darner noun

darn

2 of 5

noun (1)

: a place that has been darned
a sweater full of darns

darn

3 of 5

adjective or adverb

variants or less commonly
: damned

darn

4 of 5

verb (2)

variants or less commonly durn
darned also durned
: damn
darned adjective or adverb
or less commonly durned

darn

5 of 5

noun (2)

variants or less commonly durn
: damn

Examples of darn in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Actors lived their best lives Saturday night at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards – giving each other trophies and looking darned good doing so. Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2024 Looking ahead to 2024’s release calendar does not inspire the same amount of confidence, but there will always be things to watch and stream — and some of those things might even be good, gosh darn it. James Grebey, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2024 Each one has been accompanied by proclamations that making machines truly intelligent is just too darned hard for humans to figure out. Will Knight, WIRED, 7 Dec. 2023 These days, there’s still some small virtue in darning a sock or reupholstering a chair, although fewer modern Americans take the time to do so or would call it efficient. Coco Krumme, WIRED, 13 Sep. 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 With the help of her friend Rachel Smith, Bennett learned how to darn, a mending technique that involves filling in holes in knits and wovens. Emma Banks, refinery29.com, 24 May 2022
Adjective or adverb
During last week's episode, Rogers narrowed his daters down to four after having a pretty darn perfect date with Girard. Journal Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2024 California is just too darn expensive for working people and middle-class families. Hanna Kang, Orange County Register, 9 Feb. 2024 But there is also that darn factor of bias that so doggedly appears to have compounded Kariko’s struggles. Lynn Dewoskin Covarrubias, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2023 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

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of darn was circa 1600

Dictionary Entries Near darn

Cite this Entry

“Darn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/darn. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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

3 of 4 verb
darn
ˈdärn
adjective or adverb
or darned
ˈdärn(d)

darn

4 of 4 noun
: damn entry 2 sense 2
not worth a darn

More from Merriam-Webster on darn

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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