Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - harm

~1 n 1 damage, injury, or trouble caused by someone's actions or by an event  (do harm to)  (Modern farming methods have done considerable harm to the countryside. | do more harm than good (=cause even more problems rather than improving the situation))  (Criticizing people's work often does more harm than good. | where's the harm in that? spoken (=used when you think that something seems a reasonable thing to do) | no harm done spoken (=used to tell someone not to worry aobut something they have done)) 2 come to no harm/not come to any harm to not be hurt or damaged  (She was relieved to see the children had come to no harm.) 3 mean no harm/not mean any harm to have no intention of hurting or upsetting anyone  (He doesn't mean any harm - he's only joking.) 4 it does no harm to do sth/there's no harm in doing sth used to suggest that someone should do something  (It does no harm to ask. | There's no harm in trying.) 5 it wouldn't do sb any harm to do sth used to suggest that someone should do something that may be helpful or useful  (It would do you no harm to get some experience first.) 6 out of harm's way a) in a safe place b) if something dangerous is out of harm's way, it is in a place where it is unable to hurt anyone or damage anything  (- compare hurt3, - see also grievous bodily harm) ~2 v 1 to damage something  (Too much direct sunlight will harm the plant.) 2 harm sb's image/reputation to make people have a worse opinion of a person or group 3 to hurt someone  (The dogs look fierce, but they wouldn't harm anyone.)