Basic+ Word of the Day: harm

harm (noun, verb) past tense: harmed

Harm means ‘injury’ or ‘damage.’

• The car accident scared Ellie, but it did no bodily harm.
• Bob doesn't expect a raise in salary this year, but there is no harm in asking.

Harm also means ‘to do harm to.’

• The news story harmed the governor's chance at reelection.
• "Have another piece of cake. It won't harm you."

Common uses

no harm, no foul: a mistake has caused no damage. Example: “Oh no! I forgot to lock the door this morning.” “No harm, no foul. No one tried to get into the house.”

Related words

harmless: without the power to do harm. Example: “The big dog barks loudly when someone approaches, but don’t worry; he’s harmless.”

In pop culture

Watch Massive Attack in the video of their song, “Safe from Harm.”

There are other meanings of harm.