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

Despite the social stigma surrounding tattoos in Vietnam, Ngoc empowers her clients, including breast cancer survivors and women with self-harm scars, to reclaim their bodies, demonstrating that her work is a profound act of compassion and resilience. —Zac Ntim, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2025

But it was never designed to be a suicide prevention app, Stephan said, and police would not be called if someone told the bot about thoughts of self-harm. —Jim Edwards, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2025

What To Know During his first court appearance September 16, Robinson appeared via video link and was seen wearing a green anti-suicide smock in jail — standard protocol for inmates considered at risk of self-harm. —Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025

He's done thousands of tattoos for people wanting to cover up scars from domestic abuse, human trafficking, self-harm and more. —Kai McNamee, NPR, 27 Sep. 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