Words / B2

LOOM/luːm/

To loom is to appear large and often threatening, or (of a problem) to seem likely: deadlines loom; a figure loomed. Approach is weaker; threaten is more direct. A loom is also a weaving machine. Deadline day loomed, so the NEA went in unfinished. Mix-up: bloom is to flower; gloom is darkness. Do not use loom for a pleasant event arriving.

Meaning

To appear as a large, often threatening, shape; of a problem, to seem likely and worrying. Also a machine for weaving.

Examples

• “Deadline day loomed, so the NEA was submitted unfinished.”
• “A hand loom featured in the industrial-revolution source, which is the machine sense.”

Good to know

loom over / ahead; a problem looms. Noun: a loom (weaving). Trap: bloom / gloom. News, history, and DT. Threatening approach or a weaving frame.

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