: 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Remove items that could be used for self-harm in the moment. Dr. Theresa T. Nguyen, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025 When OpenAI first released ChatGPT in late 2022, the bot was programmed to flatly refuse to answer questions about self-harm, prioritizing safety over keeping users engaged with the product, said the Raines’ lawsuit. Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 24 Oct. 2025 After this change, Adam Raine’s engagement with the chatbot increased precipitously, from a few dozen chats per day in January to a few hundred chats per day in April, with a tenfold increase in the fraction of those conversations relating to self-harm. Nikita Ostrovsky, Time, 23 Oct. 2025 The law requires companion chatbots to direct users who mention self-harm or suicidal ideation to suicide crisis lines. Kate Wolffe october 23, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for self-harm

Word History

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of self-harm was in 1983

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Self-harm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-harm. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

self-harm

noun
: the act of purposely hurting oneself (as by cutting or burning the skin) as an emotional coping mechanism
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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