harness

American  

[hahr-nis] / ˈhɑr nɪs /

noun

• harnesses
  plural

1. the combination of straps, bands, and other parts forming the working gear of a draft animal.

2. (on a loom) the frame containing heddles through which the warp is drawn and which, in combination with another such frame or other frames, forms the shed and determines the woven pattern.

3. the equipment, as straps, bolts, or gears, by which a large bell is mounted and rung.

4. Electricity. wiring harness.

5. armor for persons or horses.

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verb (used with object)

• harnesses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• harnessed,
  past participle,  past
• harnessing
  present participle

1. to put a harness on (a horse, donkey, dog, etc.); attach by a harness, as to a vehicle.

2. to bring under conditions for effective use; gain control over for a particular end.

   to harness water power; to harness the energy of the sun.

   Synonyms:

   exploit, utilize, manage, control

3. Archaic. to array in armor or equipments of war.

idioms

1. in double harness. double harness.

2. in harness,

   1. engaged in one's usual routine of work.

      After his illness he longed to get back in harness.

   2. together as cooperating partners or equals.

      Joe and I worked in harness on our last job.

harness British  

/ ˈhɑːnɪs /

noun

1. an arrangement of leather straps buckled or looped together, fitted to a draught animal in order that the animal can be attached to and pull a cart

2. something resembling this, esp for attaching something to the body

   a parachute harness

3. mountaineering an arrangement of webbing straps that enables a climber to attach himself to the rope so that the impact of a fall is minimized

4. the total system of electrical leads for a vehicle or aircraft

5. weaving the part of a loom that raises and lowers the warp threads, creating the shed

6. archaic armour collectively

7. at one's routine work

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verb

1. to put harness on (a horse)

2. (usually foll by to) to attach (a draught animal) by means of harness to (a cart, etc)

3. to control so as to employ the energy or potential power of

   to harness the atom

4. to equip or clothe with armour

harness More Idioms  

1. see die with one's boots on (in harness) in harness.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• harnesser
  noun
• reharness
  verb (used with object)
• harness-like
  adjective
• harnessless
  adjective
• harnesslike
  adjective
• well-harnessed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• harnesses
  plural

Participles

• harnessing
  present
• harnessed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• harness
  simple
• harnesses
  simple
• have harnessed
  perfect
• has harnessed
  perfect
• am harnessing
  progressive
• are harnessing
  progressive
• is harnessing
  progressive
• have been harnessing
  perfect progressive
• has been harnessing
  perfect progressive

Past

• harnessed
  simple
• had harnessed
  perfect
• was harnessing
  progressive
• were harnessing
  progressive
• had been harnessing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will harness
  simple
• will have harnessed
  perfect
• will be harnessing
  progressive
• will have been harnessing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of harness

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English harneis, herneis, from Old French herneis “baggage, equipment,” from Old Norse hernest (unrecorded) “provisions for an armed force,” equivalent to herr “army” ( cf. harbor, herald) + nest “provisions for a journey”

Explanation

A harness is a set of straps that are put on a horse so it can be hitched to a wagon or a carriage. The harness distributes the effort across larger sections of the horse's body. Other animals and people can also wear harnesses. Your dog might have a harness for walking, with the leash attaching to the harness and not the collar, keeping the dog from choking itself when it pulls. People wear harnesses for safety, when climbing trees or bungee jumping, for example. As a verb, harness means to control or direct as if with a harness for a specific purpose, the way solar power harnesses the power of the sun.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

harness harnesses harnessed harnessing

Afterward, she ensured Gnocchi always left the house with a collar in addition to the harness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Young men need to celebrate and harness strength.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

The two models are connected by software called a harness, which runs the models in a closed-loop system that pits them against each other for self-improvement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

She ended the show as she always does - attached to a harness, ascending into the rafters of the O2 and disappearing.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

I unhook Belle’s harness, tie her to a tree close to the wagon and campfire.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

That harnesses a network of roughly 200 task forces comprising over 4,000 personnel from federal, state and local agencies.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

Several members equipped with climbing harnesses clambered up a small tree on the school’s front lawn and dangled from its limbs on climbing ropes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

This limits event risk and harnesses time decay, the term for how options lose value each day closer to expiration.

From Barron's ● Apr. 8, 2026

The couple began by trying different harnesses and getting Roo used to it in the house before introducing a travel backpack Roo could use if she needed a safe space while out and about.

From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2026

We dress up in matching gear and harnesses, the three of us looking like X-Men cosplayers, and Rufus asks the young woman, Madeline, to take a photo of us.

From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera

A mechanism that allows healthy tissue to recover from devastating damage could potentially be harnessed to improve healing.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

From its early days, the store, called JapanLA, harnessed the internet to promote its products, using MySpace to connect with what was at the time a niche community: Los Angeles fans of kawaii culture.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Winston Churchill harnessed the power of radio, but thought television a vulgar diversion.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Glinting in the night, halfway up a hill in Japan, the greenhouse-like "Ku-An" test lab is lit by electricity harnessed from 1,500 wooden boxes of soil and compost.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

His eyes glittered darkly as he took in the scene - the Athena Parthenos harnessed to its team of pegasi, Nico with his Stygian sword drawn, Coach Hedge with his baseball bat.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

But since Aug. 9, when they began harnessing the power of Ryonex, every single one of their meme carousels has racked up tens of thousands of likes.

From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026

One example of successfully harnessing a social media audience is Ilona Maher, the US rugby player whose popularity soared during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

It is being recorded as part of work harnessing hidden microphones, cameras and artificial intelligence to reveal the secrets of species living deep in the rainforest and help protect them.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

“We’re harnessing the power of the wind and using only wind for propulsion.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

The sky was pale in the southeast, and the air was suffused with a gray mist, through which the gyptians moved like bulky ghosts, loading sledges and harnessing dogs to the traces.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• curb
• exploit
• mobilize
• tackle
• tame
• utilize