self-harm

noun

ˌself-ˈhärm 

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

Although most cutters are young women who have been emotionally, sexually, or physically abused as children, [Marilee] Strong's research shows that this specific type of self-harm also appears in other groups.

—Maria Simson et al.

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

For example, youth who develop self-harm behavior or substance misuse may require additional monitoring and may be allowed less privacy to ensure their safety. —Sherri Gordon, Parents, 28 Aug. 2025

There are also instances of how AI has given users self-harm instructions, as reported by The Atlantic. —Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025

OpenAI’s systems also found 377 messages that fell within its designation of self-harm content. —Muskaan Arshad, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2025

Experts and advocates for prison reform say a lack of self-harm data obscures the true scale of mental health crises behind bars, both for the public and those who work in the system. —Vanessa Swales, jsonline.com, 26 Aug. 2025

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