harness

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harness

  • /ˈhɑː.nəs/ UK
  • /ˈhɑɹ.nəs/ US
  • /ˈhɐː.nəs/ Australia, New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)nəs

Where it comes from

From Middle English harneys, harnes, harneis, harnais, herneis, from Anglo-Norman harneis and Old French hernois (“equipment used in battle”), believed to be from Old Norse *hernest, from herr (“army”) + nest (“provisions”) (from Proto-Germanic *nesaną (“to heal, recover”)). More at harry.

noun harnesses · harnass

  1. 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.
  2. countable A collection of wires or cables bundled and routed according to their function: a wiring harness. The cars then enter the main lines for further assembly - including the installation of internal electrical harnesses, underfloor equipment, internal panelling, roof equipment, carpets, seats and tables.
  3. dated, uncountable The complete dress, especially in a military sense, of a man or a horse; armour in general. Ring the alarum-bell! Blow, wind! come, wrack! At least we'll die with harness on our back.
  4. countable, uncountable 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.

    Similar: shaft

  5. countable, uncountable Equipment for any kind of labour.
  6. countable, uncountable A software framework. test harness
  7. countable, uncountable A system designed to manage the use of AI agents, specifically in software development. harness engineering

verb harnesses · harnessing · harnessed

  1. transitive To place a harness on something; to tie up or restrain. They harnessed the horse to the post.

    Similar: tackle

  2. transitive To capture, control or put to use. Imagine what might happen if it were possible to harness solar energy fully.
  3. transitive To equip with armour.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: rein, rein in, draw rein, rule, strap, clamp, mallet, sledgehammer, hammer, block, cords, cable, wire, leverage, cabling, bracket

Translations

Every language

noun restraint or support

Españolarnés
한국어마구 magu
日本語馬具 bagu
中文挽具 wǎnjù
हिन्दीबद्धी baddhī
Portuguêsarnês, arreios
Françaisharnais
DeutschGeschirr, Pferdegeschirr, Gurt, Anschnallgurt
Italianobraca, imbragatura, imbrago, imbracatura
Ελληνικάιπποσκευή ipposkeví, χάμουρα chámoura
Românăham, harnașament
Русскийу́пряжь úprjažʹ, сбру́я sbrúja, упря́жка uprjážka, ремни́ remní, хому́т xomút
Tiếng Việtyên cương
العربيةعِنان ʕinān
עבריתרִתְמָה ritmá

noun armour

DeutschHarnisch
Русскийдоспехи dospexi

verb to place a harness on something

Españolarrear, aparejar
Portuguêsarrear, atrelar
Françaisharnacher
Deutschvorspannen, aufzäumen
Italianoimbracare, imbragare, imbrigliare, frenare, trattenere
Românăînhăma
Русскийзапряга́ть zaprjagátʹ
עבריתרָתַם ratám

verb to control or put to use

Españolaprovechar, explotar, utilizar, emplear, instrumentalizar
Portuguêsaproveitar
Deutschnutzbar machen
Italianoimbrigliare
Русскийиспользовать ispolʹzovatʹ, задействовать zadejstvovatʹ, применить primenitʹ

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MLA

"harness." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/harness. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

harness. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/harness

Chicago

"harness." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/harness.

BibTeX
@misc{harness_2026,
  title = {harness},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/harness},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}