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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
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  1. 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 damagedamagehurt ▪ 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 Dictionaryadverb
    • 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’.
Idioms
not harm/hurt a fly
  1. to be kind and gentle and unwilling to cause unhappiness
not harm/touch a hair of somebody’s head
  1. to not hurt somebody physically in any way
See harm in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee harm in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: harm

Nearby words

previously
adverb
 
 
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