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

Safer, age-appropriate content controls, including stronger safeguards against bullying, content promoting eating disorders, and content related to suicide and self-harm. — Todd Spangler, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026

Aside from losing blood while appearing to engage in self-harm, Hilton also suffered broken bones after taking a few falls that day, Tom revealed. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026

Victoria Hinks tried taking her 16-year-old daughter’s phone away time and again as the San Rafael girl became consumed by social media feeds that Hinks said repeatedly served her posts about anorexia and self-harm. — Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2026

The teen ChatGPT restricts romantic or overly human-like interactions and adds new safeguards around self-harm, eating disorders and explicit content. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 18 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