harry
verb (used with object)
to harass, agitate, or trouble by or as if by repeated attacks; beleaguer.
harry
1 American
[har-ee]
/ ˈhær i /
verb (used with object)
-
harries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
harried,
past participle, past
-
harrying
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
harries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
harried,
past participle, past
-
harrying
present participle
Harry
2
American
[har-ee]
/ ˈhær i /
noun
harry
British
/ ˈhærɪ /
verb
-
(tr) to harass; worry
-
to ravage (a town, etc), esp in war
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
harrysimple
-
harriessimple
-
have harriedperfect
-
has harriedperfect
-
am harryingprogressive
-
are harryingprogressive
-
is harryingprogressive
-
have been harryingperfect progressive
-
has been harryingperfect progressive
Past
-
harriedsimple
-
had harriedperfect
-
was harryingprogressive
-
were harryingprogressive
-
had been harryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of harry
First recorded before 900; Middle English herien, Old English her(g)ian (derivative of here “army”); cognate with German verheeren, Old Norse herja “to harry, lay waste”
Explanation
When one army sends raiding parties into another's territory, they're harrying them. They're not making an all-out attack, they're just trying to bother and distract the other army. Although harry is not a word you hear commonly now, it does frequently occur as harried — which is an adjective used to describe what it feels like to be asked for things from all sides. You might feel harried during final exams, or two days before Christmas, if you haven't yet started your shopping.
Vocabulary lists containing harry
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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:
Kounde cleared off the line and Garcia tipped Fernandez's near-post drive away as Espanyol continued to harry Hansi Flick's side.
From Barron's ● Jan. 3, 2026
Blackthorne is part of a small fleet commissioned by England to find the mysterious and very wealthy island of Japan, and harry any Catholic forces along the way.
From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2024
Rangers did slowly begin to assert themselves and pin their opponents back, but they met a side hard-wired to block, harry, do anything to maintain their lead.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2022
“If it was harry who didn’t open the door for Megan it would be breaking news,” tweeted @cryfordaya.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2022
"You are young. Other wars will come, and you shall do your great deeds. For now, we are commanded to harry the Stony Shore."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Meanwhile, the former first minister hit out at JK Rowling during the fringe appearance, in response to a social media post made by the Harry Potter author on Friday.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Sen. Harry Reid, and later launched a long-shot bid for California governor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
That wrist is how Alcaraz sculpts that spectacular drop shot that makes opponents quiver at the knees and would make Harry Hopman cry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
The plane then landed "fast and aggressively" at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, he explains, where it was met by fire crews on the runway.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Drum lesson with Cat,” Harry said, sitting straight-backed as she settled herself, backpack in her lap, body centered in her space on the other end of the pickup bench.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
In the book, she’s a paper-thin virtual idol, whom Wade stalks and harries for attention.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 28, 2018
He hustles and harries various Chelsea defenders in quick succession as they pass the ball out from the back, no doubt knackering himself out in the process.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 12, 2017
Nelson harries the French fleet in the Mediterranean.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2014
He harries attacking midfielders, breaks up passes, and clogs space.
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2014
Such a creature harries the scholastic profession into premature senility.
From The Lighter Side of School Life by Hay, Ian
Fitzgerald calls him a wanderer “skilled in all ways of contending . . . harried for years on end.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
She was presented with her award by actor Richard E Grant, who played the Spice Girls' harried manager Clifford in the 1997 movie Spice World.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Initially, Joe and Angela don’t look so different from the pictures of couples we’ve seen before: harried and married, dead when they wed.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
As the harried solo parent of a sick child, Byrne lets the camera zoom in so close to her character’s insecurities that the audience breaks out in a cold sweat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
The door dinged and Celia walked in, looking harried.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
PGE would eventually shutter Trojan after decades of regulatory violations, forced shutdowns, construction flaws, costly repairs and constant harrying from antinuclear activist Lloyd Marbet through the state council.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2025
According to a reporter’s intrepid Freedom of Information Act inquiries, enthusiastic pickleball ambassadors are employing the “USA Pickleball tool kit” and harrying local park departments to elbow out their tennis-and-basketball-playing neighbors.
From Slate ● Dec. 7, 2023
They pressed aggressively, chasing and harrying an accomplished trio of centre-backs.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2023
Mainz had defended well up to then, frustrating the visitors with persistent harrying and it looked like Lee Jae-sung’s first-half header was going to be enough to win the game.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 27, 2023
Only a few months before, she’d been peeling and stewing the soft food he ate, changing his diapers, cleaning his bedding and pajamas, and harrying his body with moistened towels and Q-tips.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
