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

It’s been more than six weeks since Perez Hilton appeared to engage in shocking acts of self-harm during a livestream at his Miami-area home. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026

Perez Hilton’s family is clearing up some false reports tied to the blogger’s recovery from a self-harm incident that unfolded on TikTok last month. — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026

Over a month after Perez Hilton livestreamed acts of self-harm and was hospitalized, his family shared an update on his health and addressed rumors online. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026

More than a million weekly users of the chatbot ChatGPT discuss suicide and self-harm, according to NPR estimates of data released by OpenAI last fall. — Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, 14 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