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:
It was introduced in response to a lawsuit filed by Indigenous Maori climate activist Michael Smith against six prominent New Zealand companies for their contribution to environmental harm linked to climate change.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
But the continent can reduce the harm by better adapting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
But if the services didn’t harm children, then why claim you didn’t target them?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
But this is how discovery works: If you claim a broadcast inflicted extraordinary economic harm, the defendant gets to test that claim.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
His wife, Martha, and their three daughters—eight-year-old Patsy, two-year-old Polly, and a five-week-old baby, Lucy—were far from harm when the British soldiers arrived.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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
"We initially thought the kidney-protective effects of SGLT2 inhibitors might counterbalance the potential harms associated with DCCBs," said Dr. Agur.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
This week a trial kicks off in federal court, where four states—California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey—argue that Meta misled the public on the harms of social media to young minds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Justice in Aging, a national advocacy group, suggests that Medicaid estate recovery disproportionately harms low-income families because the home is often the primary asset left behind by a Medicaid recipient.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
In the New Mexico case, the First Judicial Court in Santa Fe determined that Meta’s conduct created a “public nuisance” and ordered the company to create a fund to remedy harms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
A compassionate, humane approach to the problems of the urban poor must replace the punitive practices and policies that have multiplied the harms associated with poverty and racial oppression.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
It said the claims were “limited in scope and entirely unsubstantiated,” and that the attorneys general offered “no evidence” that state residents had been harmed at all.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Their bigger worries are whether the executive has been involved in business malfeasance or behavior that harmed the company’s financials or reputation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
“Employees of both Paramount and WBD are also harmed by the uncertainties caused by the delay.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
"People were panicking, running here and there. We're evacuating for the time being... and trying to get to the hills," he said, adding: "My family is safe. No one was harmed."
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
In other words, patients don’t file lawsuits because they’ve been harmed by shoddy medical care.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
They argued the cows had degraded the seashore with manure pollution and soil erosion, harming the native wildlife.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Many of them had spent less than a minute looking at the spectacle, without realising they were harming their eyes.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
"Our work shows that we can collect samples without harming the parchments, which is a big step forward."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Doctors warn that looking directly at the Sun during a solar eclipse can damage the retina, potentially harming the cells responsible for sharp central vision.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
I told him that our brothers were standing peacefully, disciplined perfectly, and harming no one.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
