ARM

Abbreviation with 2 meanings

ARM
Stands forAdjustable-rate mortgage
Meanings2
CategoriesBusiness & Finance, Technology & Computing

ARM has two meanings. It stands for Adjustable-rate mortgage (real estate & mortgage) or Advanced RISC Machines (computer hardware).

Meanings of ARM at a glance

#ARM stands forContext
1Adjustable-rate mortgageBusiness & Finance › Real Estate & Mortgage
2Advanced RISC MachinesTechnology & Computing › Computer Hardware

1. Adjustable-rate mortgage

Business & Finance · Real Estate & Mortgage Abbreviations

Home loan whose interest rate is fixed for an initial period and then resets at set intervals based on a market index plus a fixed margin, so payments can rise or fall. Hybrid ARMs are named by their structure: a 7/6 ARM is fixed for seven years, then adjusts every six months.

Example: We took a 7/6 ARM because we expect to move before the rate ever adjusts.

Rate caps limit how much the rate can change at the first adjustment, at each later adjustment and over the loan's life, written as a series such as 5/1/5. After LIBOR ended in 2023, most new US ARMs moved to the SOFR index. Risky ARMs with teaser rates and negative amortization were a major factor in the 2007–2008 housing crisis, and later rules banned many of their features from qualified mortgages.

2. Advanced RISC Machines

Technology & Computing · Computer Hardware Abbreviations · also used in organizations

Family of energy-efficient processor architectures designed by the British company Arm Holdings and licensed to chipmakers rather than manufactured by Arm itself. Almost all smartphones, Apple silicon Macs and a growing share of laptops and cloud servers use Arm-based chips.

Example: The new Windows laptop runs on an ARM chip, so a few older drivers won't work.

The original Acorn RISC Machine was designed by Sophie Wilson and Steve Furber at Acorn Computers in Cambridge in 1985; the name changed to Advanced RISC Machines when Acorn, Apple and VLSI formed a joint venture in 1990. SoftBank bought the company in 2016 and floated it on Nasdaq in 2023. The firm has styled its name "Arm" since 2017, and its partners have shipped hundreds of billions of Arm-based chips.

More real estate & mortgage abbreviations

  • ABR – Accredited Buyer's Representative
  • ADU – Accessory dwelling unit
  • ALTA – American Land Title Association
  • ARV – After-repair value
  • AVM – Automated valuation model
  • BA – Bathroom
  • BPO – Broker price opinion
  • BR – Bedroom

See all 95 real estate & mortgage abbreviations →

More computer hardware abbreviations

  • AHCI – Advanced Host Controller Interface
  • AIO – All-in-one computer
  • ALU – Arithmetic logic unit
  • APU – Accelerated processing unit
  • ATX – Advanced Technology eXtended
  • BMC – Baseboard management controller
  • CD-R – Compact Disc Recordable
  • CD-ROM – Compact Disc Read-Only Memory

See all 151 computer hardware abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.