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Synonyms

harm

1 American  
[hahrm] / hɑrm /

noun

  1. physical injury or mental damage; hurt.

    to do him bodily harm.
    Antonyms:
    benefit

  2. moral injury; evil; wrong.

verb (used with object)

  1. to do or cause harm to; injure; damage; hurt.

    to harm one's reputation.
    Synonyms:
    abuse, maltreat
    Antonyms:
    help
HARM 2 American  
[hahrm] / hɑrm /

noun

Military.

  1. a U.S. air-to-surface missile designed to detect and destroy radar sites by homing on their emissions.

harm British  
/ hɑːm /

noun

  1. physical or mental injury or damage

  2. moral evil or wrongdoing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to injure physically, morally, or mentally

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
harm Idioms  

  1. see do one wrong (harm); out of harm's way.

Related Words

See damage.

Other Word Forms

  • harmer noun
  • self-harming adjective
  • unharmed adjective
  • unharming adjective

Etymology

Origin of harm1

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hearm; cognate with German Harm, Old Norse harmr

Origin of HARM2

H(igh-speed) A(nti) R(adiation) M(issile)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“The strike was carried out in a precise manner to mitigate harm to civilians imprisoned within the prison to the greatest extent possible,” the IDF said in a statement.

From The Wall Street Journal

Last month, tech executives, including Meta’s chief executive and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, testified in a landmark trial in Los Angeles over a lawsuit that alleges social media is addictive and harms children.

From Los Angeles Times

He was asked whether any “guardrails” could protect against potential merger harms.

From Los Angeles Times

Common throughout the show is the juxtaposition of art that holds out optimistic visions of technology’s possibilities with works that put forward more depressing perspectives about the harms it can entail.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the Friday filing, the states argued a temporary restraining order is necessary to avoid what they said would be irreparable harm to the public interest, and to their ability to effectively enforce antitrust laws.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.