harm (harms 3rd person present) (harming present participle) (harmed past tense & past participle )
1 verb To harm a person or animal means to cause them physical injury, usually on purpose.
(=injure, hurt)
The hijackers seemed anxious not to harm anyone. V n
2 n-uncount Harm is physical injury to a person or an animal which is usually caused on purpose.
oft N to n
All dogs are capable of doing harm to human beings.
3 verb To harm a thing, or sometimes a person, means to damage them or make them less effective or successful than they were.
(=damage, ruin)
...a warning that the product may harm the environment... V n
4 n-uncount Harm is the damage to something which is caused by a particular course of action.
To cut taxes would probably do the economy more harm than good.
5 If you say that someone or something will come to no harm or that no harm will cometo them, you mean that they will not be hurt or damaged in any way.
sb will come to no harm/no harm will come to sb phrase V inflects
There is always a lifeguard to ensure that no one comes to any harm...
6 If you say it does no harmto do something or there is no harmin doing something, you mean that it might be worth doing, and you will not be blamed for doing it.
do no/little harm; no harm in doing phrase V inflects
They are not always willing to take on untrained workers, but there's no harm in asking.
7 If you say that there is no harm done, you are telling someone not to worry about something that has happened because it has not caused any serious injury or damage.
no harm done phrase usu v-link PHR
There, now, you're all right. No harm done.
8 If someone is put in harm's way, they are caused to be in a dangerous situation.
in harm's way phrase PHR after v, v-link PHR
These men were never told how they'd been put in harm's way...
9 If someone or something is out of harm's way, they are in a safe place away from danger or from the possibility of being damaged.
out of harm's way phrase v-link PHR, PHR after v For parents, it is an easy way of keeping their children entertained, or simply out of harm's way...
actual bodily harm
Actual bodily harm is a criminal offence in which someone gives another person a minor injury. n-uncount
grievous bodily harm
If someone is accused of grievous bodily harm, they are accused of causing very serious physical injury to someone. The abbreviation GBH is often used. (LEGAL) n-uncount
They were both found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm.
