perm

P3E1R1M3
US/pɝm/UK/pɜːm/

verb

To give hair a perm, using heat, chemicals etc.

Similar
mermpermanent wavepermanent
OriginRussian Пермь →
Less commonScrabble 8
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

perm1

nounperm (plural perms)

plural perms

  1. abbreviationclippingClipping of permanent wave (“hairstyle”).

    Synonyms: merm

verbperm (third-person singular simple present perms, present participle perming, simple past and past participle permed)

present singular third person perms · participle present perming · participle past permed · past permed

  1. To give hair a perm, using heat, chemicals etc.

perm2

nounperm (plural perms)

plural perms

  1. informalA permutation.
  2. A combination of outcomes (not a permutation) that a gambler bets on in the football pools.

perm3

nounperm (plural perms)

plural perms

  1. computingPermission

Perm4

proper noun
  1. A historical region of northeastern Russia, corresponding to the Kama basin, a left tributary of the Volga.
  2. A krai and federal subject of Russia, near the Ural Mountains.
  3. A city, the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia.

Synonyms & antonyms

More synonyms by meaning

nouna series of waves in the hair made by applying heat and chemicals

Similar
permanent wavepermanent
Broader
wave
Also see
permanentpermanent wave

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

perm · noun, verb

Short for permanent.

Full word history & related roots →

perm · noun

Short for permutation.

Full word history & related roots →

perm · noun

Short for permission.

Full word history & related roots →

Perm · proper noun

  1. RussianПермь
  2. EnglishPerm

Borrowed from Russian Пермь (Permʹ), probably from a Proto-Finno-Permic (Uralic) stem; compared to Estonian põrand, dialectal põrmand (“floor, ground”) by P. Alvre in Keel ja Kirjandus No 7, 1981, pp. 407-413. Compare Bjarmaland. Appears on western maps as latinized Permia in the late 16th century (Mercator (1595)). The Russian city of Perm is a modern foundation, established under Peter I in 1723.

More words from Russian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بِيرْم
  • بِيرْم (bīrm)city in Russia
Bulgarian Перм
  • Пермcity in Russia
Chinese Mandarin 彼爾姆 /彼尔姆
  • 彼爾姆 /彼尔姆 (Bǐ'ěrmǔ)city in Russia
Danish Perm
  • Permcity in Russia
Dutch permanenten, Perm
  • permanentenTo treat hair, to give waves, by using heat and chemicals
  • Permcity in Russia
Finnish Perm
  • Permcity in Russia
French permanenter, Perm
  • permanenterTo treat hair, to give waves, by using heat and chemicals
  • Permcity in Russia
German Perm
  • Permcity in Russia
Hebrew פרם
  • פרם (perm)city in Russia
Hindi पेर्म, पर्म
  • पेर्म (perm)city in Russia
  • पर्म (parm)city in Russia
Hungarian Perm
  • Permcity in Russia
Indonesian Perm
  • Permcity in Russia
Japanese パーマにする, ペルミ
  • パーマにする (pāma ni suru)To treat hair, to give waves, by using heat and chemicals
  • ペルミ (Perumi)city in Russia
Korean 페름
  • 페름 (pereum)city in Russia
Malay Perm
  • Permcity in Russia
Māori whakakōrino
  • whakakōrinoTo treat hair, to give waves, by using heat and chemicals
Persian پرم
  • پرم (perm)city in Russia
Polish Perm
  • Permcity in Russia
Portuguese Perm
  • Permcity in Russia
Russian Пермь, Пермь Великая
  • Пермь (Permʹ)city in Russia
  • Пермь Великая (Permʹ Velikaja)city in Russia
  • Пермь Камская (Permʹ Kamskaja)city in Russia
Spanish Perm
  • Permcity in Russia
Swedish Perm
  • Permcity in Russia
Thai เปียร์ม
  • เปียร์มcity in Russia
Ukrainian Перм
  • Пермcity in Russia
Vietnamese Pecmi
  • Pecmicity in Russia

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with perm

termfirmconfirmwormaffirmermtherminfirmdermbermhermsquirmwyrmfermchirmdegermdepermMongolian death wormribbon worm
All rhymes →

Anagrams

premEPMR
Cite this entry
APA

perm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perm

MLA

“perm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perm. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “perm,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perm.

Source: perm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.