Meaning
Harness has two main meanings:
- (noun) Equipment of straps and fittings used to control or attach an animal (especially a horse) to something like a cart or plow.
- (verb) To control and make use of something, especially a natural resource or energy.
Grammar and Usage
Part of speech:
- Verb (transitive) — needs an object.
- Noun — countable.
Typical verb pattern:
- harness + energy/power/resource
- harness + creativity/technology/data
Example patterns:
- to harness solar energy
- to harness the power of AI
- to harness a horse to a cart
Common Phrases
- harness energy – to collect and use energy efficiently.
- harness potential – to make full use of someone’s or something’s abilities.
- safety harness – a device worn to prevent falling from heights.
- harness the wind – to generate power from wind energy.
Collocations
- verb + harness: use, wear, fasten, attach
- noun + harness: power harness, safety harness, leather harness
- harness + noun: energy, technology, data, resources, potential
Examples
- Engineers are trying to harness the power of the ocean waves.
- The company hopes to harness artificial intelligence to improve efficiency.
- She wore a safety harness while climbing the tower.
- Farmers used to harness horses to pull heavy loads.
- We need to harness our creativity to solve this problem.
- The new system allows users to harness real-time data.
- Solar panels harness sunlight to produce electricity.
- The harness around the dog was adjusted for comfort.
Synonyms or Related
- utilize
- exploit
- employ
- control
- channel
Antonym
- waste
- neglect
- ignore