darn

Universal Words verb, noun, adjective, adverb verb to repair a hole in a piece of clothing by sewing stitches across the hole: [VN] to darn socks [also V] IDIOMS darn it! (spoken, especially AmE) used as a mild swear word to show that you are angry or annoyed about sth, to avoid saying 'damn': Darn it! I've lost my keys! I'll be darned! (spoken, especially AmE) used to show that you are surprised about sth: Well, I'll be darned! They knew about it all the time! noun a place on a piece of clothing that has been repaired by darning: a sweater with darns in the elbows adjective (also darned) (spoken) used as a mild swear word, to emphasize sth: Why don't you switch the darn thing off and listen to me! adverb (also darned) (spoken) used as a mild swear word, instead of saying DAMN, to mean 'extremely' or 'very': You had a darn good try. * It's darn cold tonight.