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:
He said the idea that Walker would or could harm them was absurd to the two of them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
But the costs attached to any alleged harm flow from worldwide emissions, to which these firms’ product is one contributor among countless others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
"It's really doing harm to relationships with the United States, and there's a certain amount of legitimate fear," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
"Steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions," the military said, adding it "regrets any harm caused to uninvolved individuals".
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
For the first time in history, doctors will help more patients with surgery than they harm with postsurgical infections.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
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
They could lead to limits on what agents can do and, if agent-caused harms become widespread, drain the pocketbooks of top AI labs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 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
“Why don’t you stretch out right here? I’ll make sure nothing harms you while you sleep.”
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
But only 35 percent considered it benefited Venezuela, compared to 28 percent who said it harmed the Caribbean country.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Authorities responded immediately and nobody was harmed, according to a statement from the Estonian government.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
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
I would never have harmed one of Daisy’s little friends.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
“Whatever resources you have to set a precedent to say, ‘This is harming our community,’ makes sense to me,” Pomeroy said over matcha at a local food hall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
L. slashi does not produce venom capable of seriously harming a human.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 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
Eisenkot also criticised Netanyahu for "allowing anarchists like Zvi Sukkot and his ilk to do whatever they please, endangering security in the settlements and harming Israel's standing in the world".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
“I just wrote facts I found in library books. I didn’t mean that Ralph personally ran around harming crops.”
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
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.
