harm 1 S3 W3 / hɑm $ hɑrm / 名词 [不可数名词]

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.

COLLOCATIONS

动词

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.

形容词

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.

短语

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 .