harm
noun
physical injury or mental damage; hurt.
harm
1 American
[hahrm]
/ hɑrm /
noun
-
physical injury or mental damage; hurt.
to do him bodily harm.
- Antonyms:
- benefit
-
moral injury; evil; wrong.
verb (used with object)
-
harms,
present (3rd person singular)
-
harmed,
past participle, past
-
harming
present participle
HARM
2
American
[hahrm]
/ hɑrm /
noun
Military.
harm
British
/ hɑːm /
noun
-
physical or mental injury or damage
-
moral evil or wrongdoing
verb
harm
Idioms
Synonym Usage
See damage.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
harmsimple
-
harmssimple
-
have harmedperfect
-
has harmedperfect
-
am harmingprogressive
-
are harmingprogressive
-
is harmingprogressive
-
have been harmingperfect progressive
-
has been harmingperfect progressive
Past
-
harmedsimple
-
had harmedperfect
-
was harmingprogressive
-
were harmingprogressive
-
had been harmingperfect progressive
Future
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)
Explanation
Harm is a deliberate injury or damage to someone or something. A playground bully is a mean kid who causes harm to other kids. Harm is both a noun and a verb — when you inflict harm on your brother, you harm him. Physically hurting someone is only one way to harm them. If a classmate spreads a mean rumor about you, that also harms you. The Old English root word is hearm, which means "hurt" and "pain," but also "evil" and "insult."
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.
See Examples For:
Alabama's suit was the latest in a wave of litigation targeting social media companies across the United States over the harm their apps allegedly cause young users.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
Ahead of agreeing to expand the review to cases dating back to 2015, members of the trust's board offered "sincere" apologies for the failings and harm caused.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
But now the disappearance starts much earlier, from the moment someone is detained here in the United States, and that significantly compounds the harm.
From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2026
"Knowing the risks, we are in a much better position to prevent harm to children treated with GLP-1s during a pivotal period in their lives."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
“I am confident,” he observed, “that it will do him more harm than me.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
The traditional medical motto has now become a challenge: DO NO HARM.
From New York Times ● Aug. 24, 2010
It can't do you any HARM, you know,' he went on in hoarse whispered earnestness.
From The Phoenix and the Carpet by E. (Edith) Nesbit
Those figures have influenced international discussions about both the benefits and possible harms of population-based breast cancer screening.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
It means holding developers accountable for preventable harms while preserving their ability to innovate.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
The practice of indiscriminately removing interior branches to “reduce density” stresses trees, harms tree health and can make them less safe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Greenland has repeatedly asked the EU to lift its ban on seal products, in effect since 2009, saying it harms indigenous people in the Arctic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
“Very well, then, Stephen, what harms humanity? Economic dislocations most of all, from whatever cause. Wouldn’t you say so?”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
He left it behind to found the first U.S. law firm devoted exclusively to representing people who claimed they were harmed by gender-transition treatments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Different trainers, managers and promoters followed, but Teasdale admits instability harmed his progress.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Two insurance companies run by Advantage Capital Holdings have sued South Carolina’s insurance regulator, alleging that a takeover attempt of their businesses has harmed the companies and their policyholders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
“No computers were harmed in the making of this show,” Harrison says — thus the extra players.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
“But,” someone will object, “I have used dieldrin sprays on the lawn many times but I have never had convulsions like the World Health Organization spraymen — so it hasn’t harmed me.”
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
L. slashi does not produce venom capable of seriously harming a human.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
But whether these managers believed Letby was harming babies or not was "irrelevant", Thirlwall said, adding that action should have been taken as soon as concerns were raised.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
This year more than a half-million acres have burned there, forcing school closures and harming air quality as far away as Singapore and the Philippines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
According to one study, a new mom is just as likely to have disturbing thoughts of intentionally harming her child as she is to not have such thoughts.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
What if Scott was accused of harming her just because they never knew about B?
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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.
