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

His mother’s filing came just days after the blogger appeared to engage in acts of self-harm while live-streaming from inside his Miami home. — Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2026

Chan's death comes after celebrity blogger Perez Hilton also alarmed fans on a TikTok livestream when police were called to his home after reports of self-harm. — Moises Mendez Ii, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026

Esposito said the remark was interpreted as a threat of self-harm. — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026

The Florida law allows family members, doctors, law enforcement or other professionals to seek emergency mental health services and temporarily hold a person over concerns for their mental health or propensity for self-harm. — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 8 Aug. 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