harness
Verbharnesses, harnessing, harnessed
Noun pluralharnesses
Formsharnesses, harnessing, harnessed
Pluralharnesses
- 1To capture, control or put to use something, especially a natural force or resource.
The town plans to harness the wind on the ridge to power its schools.
A good coach knows how to harness a young player's restless energy.
UsageOften with to + verb: harness the wind to power homes.
Similarexploit, channel, tap, utilize, use
Note
The figurative verb grew from putting a horse in harness: a force is yoked and made to pull. Unlike control or restrain, harness implies that the thing is put to work, not merely held back.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The figurative verb extends the literal sense of equipping a horse for pulling. gutenberg.org
- 2A restraint or support, usually a loop or network of straps or rope, and especially one worn by a working animal such as a horse pulling a carriage or farm equipment.
The farmer checked every buckle on the horse's harness before hitching it to the plow.
Window washers on the tower are clipped to the roof by safety harnesses.
UsageCommon combinations include wear a harness and safety harness. Back in harness means back at work.
- 3A bundle of wires or cables grouped and routed together according to their function.
The mechanic traced the fault to a cracked connector on the engine harness.
Workers install the electrical harnesses before the seats and carpets go in.
- 4To put a harness on something, especially an animal; to tie it up or restrain it.
We harnessed the ponies and led them out to the cart.
Before the climb, the guide showed us how to harness ourselves to the safety line.
UsageOften harness an animal to a cart, or harness yourself to a line.
Less common meanings
- 5The complete outfit of a man or horse, especially for war; armor in general.
Ring the alarum-bell! Blow, wind! come, wrack! At least we'll die with harness on our back.
c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”Under the sea-girt cliffs the shining ship was readied, laden with coats of mail, swords, and gleaming war harness.
1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”Similararmor
Note
When Macbeth vows to "die with harness on our back", he means in armor, not straps. The sense is archaic now, though Norma Lorre Goodrich still loads Beowulf's ship with "gleaming war harness" in 1961.
- 6To equip someone with armor.
- 7The part of a loom made up of the heddles and the parts that hold and move them, raising and lowering the warp threads in turn for the shuttle to pass.
The weaver tied up the harness so that every other warp thread would rise.
A loom with four harnesses can weave many more patterns than a simple two-harness loom.
Similarshaft
Note
Weavers also call this part a shaft, and both words take a number: a loom is described by how many it has, as in a two-harness loom. Used without a number, harness can also mean all of them together, the whole lifting gear of the loom.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- The loom component is also called a shaft. home.nps.gov
- Looms are described by the number of harnesses or shafts they have. avllooms.com
- Two-harness loom is an established description. sustainlife.org
- Harness can collectively denote the loom's lifting assembly. en.wikipedia.org
- 8The gear, tackle, or outfit used in carrying out work of any kind.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
Old French hernois and Anglo-Norman harneis meant equipment used in battle. They are thought to come from Old Norse *hernest, made of herr ("army") and nest ("provisions"). Middle English took the word as harneys or harnes. Compare harry.