damage

1 of 2

noun

dam·​age ˈda-mij 

1

: loss or harm resulting from injury to person, property, or reputation

flood damage

sustained severe damage to her knee

2

damages plural : compensation in money imposed by law for loss or injury

The judge awarded them $5,000 in damages.

3

: expense, cost

"What's the damage?" he asked the waiter

damage

2 of 2

verb

damaged; damaging

transitive verb

: to cause damage (see damage entry 1 sense 1) to

don't damage the furniture

returning soldiers damaged by war

damageability

ˌda-mi-jə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

damager noun

Synonyms

Noun

• affliction
• detriment
• harm
• hurt
• injury

Verb

• blemish
• bloody
• break
• compromise
• crab
• cripple
• cross (up)
• deface
• disfigure
• endamage
• flaw
• harm
• hurt
• impair
• injure
• mar
• spoil
• vitiate

Choose the Right Synonym for damage

injure, harm, hurt, damage, impair, mar mean to affect injuriously.

injure implies the inflicting of anything detrimental to one's looks, comfort, health, or success.

badly injured in an accident

harm often stresses the inflicting of pain, suffering, or loss.

careful not to harm the animals

hurt implies inflicting a wound to the body or to the feelings.

hurt by their callous remarks

damage suggests injury that lowers value or impairs usefulness.

a table damaged in shipping

impair suggests a making less complete or efficient by deterioration or diminution.

years of smoking had impaired his health

mar applies to injury that spoils perfection (as of a surface) or causes disfigurement.

the text is marred by many typos

Examples of damage in a Sentence

Noun

The items were carefully wrapped to protect them from damage during shipping.

The city sustained heavy damage during the war.

Fortunately the boat suffered no serious damage in the storm.

The fall caused considerable damage to her knee.

The disease is known to cause permanent brain damage.

The scandal caused significant damage to her career.

You've said enough. Please leave before you do any more damage.

He tried to repair the damage by apologizing.

He apologized, but the damage was already done.

Verb

Please return any items that are damaged during shipping.

Many homes were damaged or completely destroyed in the fire.

The fall severely damaged her knee.

Smoking can seriously damage your lungs.

The scandal significantly damaged her career.

This news will damage his reputation.

He was worried that his comments had damaged their relationship.

He's trying to repair his damaged reputation.

See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

While the total outlined in the lawsuit reaches into the multimillions of dollars, FTX is asking the court to award damages of a value determined at trial, the WSJ noted. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 20 Sep. 2023

Allowing up to $100,000 in water damage claims for waterline breaks of pipes 36 inches in diameter and above. —Stacy Ryburn, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2023

Yu & Me lost the majority of their inventory equipment due to heavy smoke and water damage. —Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 20 Sep. 2023

The graduate transfer from Michigan State completed 24 of 32 passes and did his rushing damage on 11 carries, producing four passes and a rush of 30-plus yards. —Mark Heim | [e-mail], al, 19 Sep. 2023

Screen replacement is $29, other accidental damage is $99 and theft or loss replacement is $149. —Jim Rossman, Anchorage Daily News, 19 Sep. 2023

There were no additional damages or injuries reported, the officials added. —Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 19 Sep. 2023

Plenty worry that benching these shows now could do irreparable damage, as still more viewers find new ways to fill their time. —Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Sep. 2023

Their antioxidants also help reduce oxidative stress, which can cause cell damage and disease. —Byalexa Mikhail, Fortune Well, 18 Sep. 2023

Verb

Inside the store, Lyons said windows were blown out, and the frame and structure were damaged. —Carlos R. Muñoz, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Sep. 2023

And about 200 homes were damaged in and around North Attleborough after a storm Monday quickly dumped about 5 inches of rain on ground already saturated from a weekend storm, officials said. —Holly Yan, CNN, 12 Sep. 2023

The landlord is now in the process of evicting him -- not only because of the lies, but also because the hoarding level of filth has damaged the house. —Abigail Van Buren, cleveland, 12 Sep. 2023

Choose heartier greens: Delicate salad greens, such as spinach and arugula, can easily get damaged in transit if not packed properly. —Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2023

Across the state, communities have expressed concerns that losing that land to solar could damage the local environment and cause property values to decline. —Izzy Ross, Detroit Free Press, 11 Sep. 2023

In Louisiana, the Corps is building an underwater sill for the second year in a row to keep seawater from pushing upstream and damaging drinking water systems. —USA TODAY, 10 Sep. 2023

Some buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, while others survived and stood proud amid the rubble. —NBC News, 10 Sep. 2023

The earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday night damaged Marrakesh’s labyrinthine old city—a longtime draw for tourists in the country. —Anastasiia Malenko, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from dan damage, from Latin damnum — see damn entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing damage

• property damage
• collateral damage
• damage control
• property damage insurance
• the damage
• What's the damage

• property damage
• collateral damage
• damage control
• property damage insurance
• the damage
• What's the damage

Kids Definition

damage

1 of 2 noun

dam·​age ˈdam-ij 

1

: a loss or harm caused by injury to one's person or property

2

plural : payment in money ordered by a court for loss or injury

collected damages for his broken arm in the accident claim

damage

2 of 2 verb

damaged; damaging

: to cause damage to

Legal Definition

damage

1 of 2 noun

dam·​age

1

: loss or harm resulting from injury to person, property, or reputation

2

plural : the money awarded to a party in a civil suit as reparation for the loss or injury for which another is liable see also additur, cover, mitigate, remittitur compare declaratory judgment at judgment sense 1a, injunction, specific performance at performance

Note: The trier of fact determines the amount of damages to be awarded to the prevailing party. More than one type of damages may be awarded for a single injury.

— actual damages

: damages deemed to compensate the injured party for losses sustained as a direct result of the injury suffered

called also compensatory damages

— consequential damages

: special damages in this entry

— direct damages

: damages for a loss that is an immediate, natural, and foreseeable result of the wrongful act compare special damages in this entry

— exemplary damages \ ig-​ˈzem-​plə-​rē-​ \

: punitive damages in this entry

— expectation damages

: damages recoverable for breach of contract and designed to put the injured party in the position he or she would have been in had the contract been completed

called also expectancy damages

— general damages

: damages for a loss that is the natural, foreseeable, and logical result of a wrongful act compare special damages in this entry

: damages for losses (as pain and suffering, inconvenience, or loss of lifestyle) whose monetary values are difficult to assign

— hedonic damages \ hi-​ˈdä-​nik-​ \

: damages deemed to compensate for the loss of enjoyment of life resulting from a wrongful act

Note: Hedonic damages are not recognized in all jurisdictions.

— incidental damages

: damages recoverable under section 2-715 of the Uniform Commercial Code in breach of contract cases for losses that include expenses incurred in handling and caring for goods which were the subject of the contract, reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining cover, and any other reasonable expenses resulting from the breach that do not fall into any other category

— liquidated damages

: damages whose amount is agreed upon by the parties to a contract as adequately compensating for loss in the event of a breach

called also stipulated damages

Note: Liquidated damages in an amount exceeding that needed to reasonably compensate the injured party constitute a penalty and are therefore void.

— moratory damages

in the civil law of Louisiana : damages recoverable for loss resulting from an obligor's delay in performing

Note: Compensatory damages are recoverable in a case of failure to perform.

— nominal damages

: damages awarded in a small amount (as one dollar) in cases in which a party has been injured but no loss resulted from the injury or in which the injured party failed to prove that loss resulted from the injury

— presumed damages

: damages that are presumed under the law to result naturally and necessarily from a tortious act and that therefore do not require proof

— punitive damages

: damages awarded in cases of serious or malicious wrongdoing to punish or deter the wrongdoer or deter others from behaving similarly

called also exemplary damages, smart money

— special damages

: damages awarded in an amount deemed to compensate for losses that arise not as a natural result of the injury but because of some particular circumstance of the injured party

specifically : damages relating to a business, profession, or property that are easily calculable in monetary terms

called also consequential damages

compare direct damages in this entry general damages in this entry

Note: Because special damages do not arise in every case, they must be specifically requested in the pleadings. This is an issue of particular importance in cases of harm to reputation, such as slander, libel, and malicious prosecution.

— stipulated damages

in the civil law of Louisiana : liquidated damages in this entry

— treble damages \ ˈtre-​bəl-​ \

: damages awarded in an amount that is three times the amount for which the trier of fact finds the wrongdoer liable

Note: Treble damages are recoverable where authorized by statute and are usually imposed as a punishment.

3

plural : losses for which damages are recoverable

did not incur damages, because he was unlikely to win the foreclosure case

—Rosalind Resnick

damage

2 of 2 adjective

: of or relating to damages

a damage action

a damage remedy

Etymology

Noun

Old French, from dam injury, harm, from Latin damnum financial loss, fine