self-harm

noun

ˌself-ˈhärm 

: the act of purposely hurting oneself (as by cutting or burning the skin) as an emotional coping mechanism

An acute change in mood that persists for weeks or is associated with thoughts of self-harm should not be ignored.

—John Williamson

called also self-injury, self-mutilation

self-harm intransitive verb

self-harmed; self-harming; self-harms

teenagers who self-harm

Examples of self-harm in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The problem, experts suggested, is that chatbots could harm users in myriad ways beyond encouraging risky behaviors like self-harm or violence. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 9 Sep. 2026

Today, the Joliet center is plagued by widespread conditions of solitary confinement, rampant violence and endemic self-harm. — Joan Steffen, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2026

OpenAI, which has faced lawsuits that allege their chatbot ChatGPT provided teens with self-harm content, expressed support for the bill on Monday. — Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026

That doesn’t mean that teens who are feeling overwhelmed will begin having thoughts of self-harm. — Sarah Cottrell, Parents, 1 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-harm

• alarm
• disarm
• forearm
• gendarme
• nonfarm
• rearm
• arm
• charm
• farm
• harm
• firearm
• underarm

Kids Definition

self-harm

noun

ˌself-ˈhärm 

: the act of purposely hurting oneself (as by cutting or burning the skin) as an emotional coping mechanism