Definition of harm verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

harm

verb

/hɑːm/

/hɑːrm/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they harm	/hɑːm/ /hɑːrm/
he / she / it harms	/hɑːmz/ /hɑːrmz/
past simple harmed	/hɑːmd/ /hɑːrmd/
past participle harmed	/hɑːmd/ /hɑːrmd/
-ing form harming	/ˈhɑːmɪŋ/ /ˈhɑːrmɪŋ/

Idioms

jump to other results

harm somebody/something to hurt or injure somebody or to damage something
- He would never harm anyone.
- Pollution can harm marine life.
- These revelations will harm her chances of winning the election.
- Rising oil prices could harm the global economy.
- It's important to grow the business in a way that does not harm the environment.
- Misusing drugs in pregnancy can seriously harm your baby.
see also self-harm
Extra Examples
- The decision could harm British interests.
- The country's treatment of asylum seekers is harming its international reputation.
- He claimed that he had not intended to harm anyone.
Synonyms damage
damagehurt ▪ harm ▪ impairThese words all mean to have a bad effect on somebody/something.
damage to cause physical harm to something, making it less attractive, useful or valuable; to have a bad effect on somebody/something’s life, health, happiness or chances of success:
The fire badly damaged the town hall.
emotionally damaged children
hurt (rather informal) to have a bad effect on somebody/something’s life, health, happiness or chances of success:
Hard work never hurt anyone.
harm to have a bad effect on somebody/something’s life, health, happiness or chances of success:
Pollution can harm marine life.
damage, hurt or harm?Hurt is slightly less formal than damage or harm, especially when it is used in negative statements: It won’t hurt him to have to wait a bit. • It won’t damage/harm him to have to wait a bit. Harm is also often used to talk about ways in which things in the natural world such as wildlife and the environment are affected by human activity.
impair (rather formal) to damage somebody’s health, abilities or chances:
Even one drink can impair driving performance.
Patterns
- to damage/hurt/harm/impair somebody’s chances
- to damage/hurt/harm somebody’s interests/reputation
- to damage/harm/impair somebody’s health
- to seriously/greatly damage/hurt/harm/impair somebody/something
- to badly/severely damage/hurt/impair somebody/something
Topics Health problemsb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- seriously
- deliberately
- physically
- …
verb + harm
- intend to
- want to
- try to
- …
See full entry
Word OriginOld English hearm (noun), hearmian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to German Harm and Old Norse harmr ‘grief, sorrow’.

Definitions on the go

Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.