What does "loom" mean?
Loom: A frame or machine of wood or other material, in which a weaver forms cloth out of thread; a machine for interweaving yarn or threads into a fabric, as in knitting or lace making. Hector, when he sees Andromache overwhelmed with terror, sends her for consolation to the loom and the distaff. Rambler.
Additional senses
- 2.(Naut.) That part of an oar which is near the grip or handle and inboard from the rowlock. Totten.
- 3.To appear above the surface either of sea or land, or to appear enlarged, or distorted and indistinct, as a distant object, a ship at sea, or a mountain, esp. from atmospheric influences; as, the ship looms large; the land looms high. Awful she looms, the terror of the main. H. J. Pye.
- 4.To rise and to be eminent; to be elevated or ennobled, in a moral sense. On no occasion does he [Paul] loom so high, and shine so gloriously, as in the context. J. M. Mason.
- 5.The state of looming; esp., an unnatural and indistinct appearance of elevation or enlargement of anything, as of land or of a ship, seen by one at sea.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00