the occurrence of a change for the worse
"The sudden power outage caused harm to several electronic devices in the office."
physical injury; hurt; damage
"The child tried to help, but he accidentally dropped a heavy box and caused serious harm to his leg."
In plain English: Harm is damage or injury that hurts someone or something.
"The new regulations are designed to prevent any harm to consumers."
Usage: Use "harm" as a noun to describe physical injury or damage caused by an action, such as in the phrase "suffer harm." It functions similarly to "hurt" but often implies a more serious or lasting effect on someone's well-being.
To cause injury to another; to hurt; to cause damage to something.
"The falling branch nearly caused serious harm to the dog playing in the yard."
In plain English: To harm means to hurt or damage someone or something.
"The car crash caused serious harm to the driver."
Usage: Use "harm" to describe any action that causes physical injury, emotional pain, or material damage to someone or something. It serves as a general term for inflicting negative effects without specifying the severity of the outcome.
The word "harm" comes from Old English hearm, where it originally meant pain or shame before evolving to its current sense. This Germanic root traveled into Middle English and eventually modern English while retaining a core meaning of injury or distress.