harness
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A restraint or support.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hahrnuhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhɑɹnəs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
countable
A restraint or support, especially one consisting of a loop or network of rope or straps, and especially one worn by a working animal such as a horse pulling a carriage or farm implement.
A support consisting of an arrangement of straps for holding something to the body (especially one supporting a person suspended from a parachute)
Stable gear consisting of an arrangement of leather straps fitted to a draft animal so that it can be attached to and pull a cart
countable
A collection of wires or cables bundled and routed according to their function: a wiring harness.
Equipment for any kind of labour.
The part of a loom comprising the heddles, with their means of support and motion, by which the threads of the warp are alternately raised and depressed for the passage of the shuttle.
verb
transitive
To capture, control or put to use.
transitive
To equip with armour.
Put a harness
transitive
To place a harness on something; to tie up or restrain.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A restraint or support, especially one consisting of a loop or network of rope or straps, and especially one worn by a working animal such as a horse pulling a carriage or farm implement.
Used this way, harness is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Horse used for pulling vehicles.
A horse race between people riding in sulkies behind horses that are trotting or pacing.
A horse race between people riding in sulkies behind horses that are trotting or pacing.
Any of several antelopes of the genus Tragelaphus having striped markings resembling a harness.
Belt attaching you to some object as a restraint in order to prevent you from getting hurt.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.