26984 words

harms

6 definitions • 18 examples
1
physical or other injury or damage:

Examples:

Both deny conspiring to cause actual bodily harm.
do something harm A mistake like that will do his credibility a lot of harm.
do someone harm Missing a meal once in a while never did anyone any harm.
(there's) no harm in You could always ask Jim if they need any more staff in his office - (there's) no harm in asking (= no one will be annoyed and you might benefit).
mean no harm She meant no harm (= did not intend to offend) - she was only joking.
come to harm She was frightened by the experience but she came to no harm (= was not hurt).
2
to hurt someone or damage something:

Examples:

Thankfully no one was harmed in the accident.
The government's reputation has already been harmed by a series of scandals.
3
physical or other injury or damage:

Examples:

Missing a meal once in a while won’t do you any harm.
Fortunately, she didn’t come to any harm when the car skidded.
Maybe Jim can help you – there’s no harm in asking (= no one will be annoyed and you might benefit).
4
damage done to something:

Examples:

The board failed to prove irreparable harm in its suit against the council.
The harms associated with climate change are serious and well recognized.
not do (any) harm to sb/sth The bond offers great benefits for issuers without doing any harm to investors.
5
used to say that an action is not helpful and could make a situation worse:

Examples:

Suspending payments on government debts would do more harm than good.
6
to damage something or make something worse:

Examples:

harm the economy/environment/country Economists warned that such a spending pattern could not be sustained without harming the economy.

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