I. harm 1 S3 W3 /hɑːm $ hɑːrm/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ harm , ↑ harmlessness ; adjective : ↑ unharmed , ↑ harmful ≠ ↑ harmless ; verb : ↑ harm ; adverb : ↑ harmlessly ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: hearm ]
1 . damage, injury, or trouble caused by someone’s actions or by an event:
The scandal did his career a lot of harm.
Our children deserve protection from harm.
⇨ ↑ grievous bodily harm
2 . come to no harm/not come to any harm to not be hurt or damaged:
She was relieved to see the children had come to no harm.
3 . mean no harm/not mean any harm to have no intention of hurting or upsetting anyone:
She’s a terrible gossip but she means no harm.
4 . there’s no harm in doing something/it does no harm to do something spoken used to suggest something to someone:
There’s no harm in trying.
It does no harm to ask.
5 . it wouldn’t do somebody any harm to do something spoken used to suggest that someone should do something that may be helpful or useful to them:
It wouldn’t do you any harm to get some experience first.
6 . out of harm’s way
a) if someone or something is out of harm’s way, they are in a place where they cannot be hurt or damaged:
Copies of your documents should be kept in a safe place, well out of harm’s way.
b) if something dangerous is out of harm’s way, it is in a place where it cannot hurt anyone or damage anything:
If you have small children, make sure that you store all medicines out of harm’s way.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ do (something) harm
Try to choose products that do the least harm to the environment.
▪ cause (somebody/something) harm
Very small amounts of the chemical cause no lasting harm.
▪ inflict harm (=cause harm, especially physical harm)
None of us wants to inflict harm on another human being.
▪ suffer harm
A child can be taken into care if he is or is likely to suffer significant harm.
▪ prevent harm
He was put in a mental hospital to prevent harm to others.
■ adjectives
▪ great/serious/significant harm
If you drink too much alcohol, you can do yourself serious harm.
▪ physical harm
They were afraid that he would do them some actual physical harm.
▪ psychological/emotional harm
Depriving a child of love does irreparable emotional harm.
▪ environmental harm
The report highlights the environmental harm caused by transporting goods around the world.
▪ irreparable harm (=that cannot be made better)
The scandal has caused irreparable harm to his career.
▪ lasting/permanent harm
The injury caused him discomfort but no lasting harm.
▪ untold harm (=so much harm that it cannot be described completely)
This type of abuse can cause a child untold harm.
▪ potential harm
People need to be more aware of the potential harm of being overweight.
■ phrases
▪ do more harm than good (=cause more problems rather than improve a situation)
If you don’t warm up properly, exercise may do more harm than good.
▪ no harm done spoken (=used to tell someone not to worry about something they have done)
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push you.’ ‘Don’t worry, no harm done.’
▪ where’s the harm in that? spoken (=used when you think that something seems reasonable, although other people may not)
Sure, he gets attention when he performs at a charity event, but where’s the harm in that?
■ COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say ' give harm ' or ' make harm '. Say do harm or cause harm .
II. harm 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ harm , ↑ harmlessness ; adjective : ↑ unharmed , ↑ harmful ≠ ↑ harmless ; verb : ↑ harm ; adverb : ↑ harmlessly ]
1 . to have a bad effect on something:
chemicals that harm the environment
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say that something is bad for something rather than that it harms something:
▪
chemicals that are bad for the environment
2 . to physically hurt a person or animal:
The kidnappers didn’t harm him, thank God.
3 . harm sb’s image/reputation to make people have a worse opinion of a person or group
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THESAURUS
▪ harm to have a bad effect on someone or something:
Many women said parenthood harmed their careers.
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A little hard work never harmed anyone.
▪ damage to harm something badly. Damage is more serious than harm :
His reputation was damaged and his career was in ruins.
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The affair has damaged people’s confidence in the government.
▪ be bad for somebody/something to be likely to harm someone or something:
Too much fatty food is bad for you.
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All this rain is bad for business.
▪ be detrimental to something formal to be bad for something:
The new housing development will be detrimental to the character of this small town.
▪ impair formal to harm something, especially someone’s ability to do something or the correct working of a system:
Any amount of alcohol that you drink will impair your ability to drive.
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His vision was impaired.
▪ prejudice /ˈpredʒədəs, ˈpredʒʊdəs/ to have a bad effect on the future success of something:
Don’t do anything to prejudice our chances of winning.