Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A permanent.
  • transitive verb To give (hair) a permanent.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun US A permanent.
  • noun UK A permanent wave.
  • verb To give hair a perm, using heat, chemicals etc.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb give a permanent wave to
  • noun a series of waves in the hair made by applying heat and chemicals
  • noun a city in the European part of Russia

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • I had wavy hair to start with and thought making it curly with a perm was the way to go.

    blog: 2008

  • The perm is the bread-n-butter of most beauticians.

    Black Entertainment, Money, Style and Beauty Blogs - Black Voices 2010

  • The perm was a staple of my "look" from 5th grade through freshman year in college when I got the poodliest perm you can imagine and decided to move on.

    Jezebel 2009

  • "One of the biggest reasons this trend has not become infectious on Main Street is the word 'perm' brings back hideous memories from the '80s," Mr. Terzian said.

    The Perm Is Back nytimes.com 2011

  • "One of the biggest reasons this trend has not become infectious on Main Street is the word 'perm' brings back hideous memories from the '80s," Mr. Terzian said.

    The Perm Is Back nytimes.com 2011

  • Beauty Hair Salon have noticed that some women in the business centre have a perm which is a new fashionable hairstyle.

    1. Product: What products or services to provide 1999

  • "Chicco-style", coined after the hairstyle of the local singer, or "perm" flash onto the screen.

    Media community of South Africa 2010

  • When you purchase this item you get three different size easel's and they are full perm which is fantastic.

    Fashion World of SL Shopping Cart Disco 2010

  • I would expect perm which is primarily a professional area.

    SeekingAlpha.com: Home Page 2009

  • I'm waiting for the Kim Jong-Il "perm" to materialize.

    Guy Fawkes' blog 2009

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