collateral damage
noun
: injury inflicted on something other than an intended target
specifically
: civilian casualties of a military operation
Examples of collateral damage in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These two people's fight had to have a lot of collateral damage.
—
Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Its precision reduces collateral damage compared to older artillery systems.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 13 Apr. 2026
Cyber and other non-traditional software names in the fund are collateral damage.
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 11 Apr. 2026
Gopal Jain, managing director of Gaja Capital, one of India’s oldest private equity firms, is seeing the collateral damage firsthand.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for collateral damage
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Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Its precision reduces collateral damage compared to older artillery systems.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 13 Apr. 2026
Cyber and other non-traditional software names in the fund are collateral damage.
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 11 Apr. 2026
Gopal Jain, managing director of Gaja Capital, one of India’s oldest private equity firms, is seeing the collateral damage firsthand.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for collateral damage
Cite this Entry
“Collateral damage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collateral%20damage. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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