damage

noun dam·age \ ˈda-mij \

Definition of damage

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

See damage defined for English-language learners

See damage defined for kids

Examples of damage in a Sentence

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, but it was too late.
He apologized, but the damage was already done.

Recent Examples of damage from the Web

Prices will go down again, DeHaan said, but not until the extent of damage is known.

— leada gore, AL.com, "Hurricane Harvey: How high will gas prices go? What states will be hit the hardest?," 30 Aug. 2017
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited Texas to survey the damage from Harvey on Tuesday afternoon.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Floodwater Still Rising as Harvey Makes Second Landfall in Louisiana," 30 Aug. 2017
Seven years after Handsome Lake’s visions, the Indians had begun to recognize the full extent of the damage that alcohol had done to their people.

— Longreads, "America’s First Addiction Epidemic," 29 Aug. 2017
The search took several days because of the location of the damage and the conditions that divers faced inside the ship, according to Navy spokesmen at the Pentagon and in Japan on Monday.

— jeanette steele, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Bodies of 10 missing USS McCain sailors found inside ship," 28 Aug. 2017
As the rest of the nation braces for what damage Hurricane Harvey will cause, the president is pardoning a man who was convicted for his racist practices.

— christina coleman, Essence.com, "Trump Pardons Racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio As Hurricane Barrels Towards Texas," 25 Aug. 2017
But the Times story, which is clearly sourced primarily from people loyal to the Senate majority leader, suggests that the damage Trump is doing to the G.O.P. agenda has changed McConnell’s political calculus.

— tina nguyen, The Hive, "Why Trump’s War on McConnell Could Imperil His Presidency," 23 Aug. 2017
Less environmental damage as no salt or chemicals are needed.

— timothy dahl, Popular Mechanics, "Let a Snow Melting System Do the Work For You This Winter," 23 Aug. 2017
The emails suggested that Tankersley was exaggerating the damage to the historic sites in Mariemont.

— jeanne houck, Cincinnati.com, "Mariemont: From bikes to burial grounds," 22 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'damage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of damage

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

damage Synonyms

Synonyms

affliction, injury, detriment, harm, hurt

Related Words

disservice, injustice, outrage, wrong; affront, dart, indignity, insult, offense (or offence); beating, crippling, mayhem, mutilation; defacement, disability, disablement, disfigurement, impairment; lesion; rupture, strain; abrasion, chafe, scrape, scratch; boo-boo, bruise, contusion, swelling, wound; bump, concussion; cut, gash, laceration; burn, scald, scar, scathe, sear

Near Antonyms

healing, recovery; cure, fix, remedy

damage

verb

Definition of damage

damaged; damaging

transitive verb

:to cause damage (see ¹damage 1) to

don't damage the furniture

returning soldiers damaged by war

—

damageability

play \ˌda-mi-jə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

—

damager

noun

See damage defined for English-language learners

Examples of damage in a Sentence

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 undoubtedly damage the governor's reputation.
He was worried that his comments had seriously damaged their relationship.
He's trying to repair his damaged reputation.

Recent Examples of damage from the Web

A co-worker of Scott’s at a south Kansas City Burger King said Scott appeared to be damaged by his brother’s death.

— glenn e. rice, ian cummings, joe robertson and toriano porter, kansascity, "‘Kill all white people’: Suspect in killings of five white men made threat in 2014," 30 Aug. 2017
Democrats think the repeal push could damage the GOP.

— lisa gillespie, Kaiser Health News, "Will GOP Pay A Price For Trying To Take Health Care Benefits From Voters?," 24 Aug. 2017
Later, America's White supremacy defending commander-in-chief decided that maybe those solar eclipse glasses would come in handy and popped on a pair before damaging his cornea.

— sydney scott, Essence.com, "Of Course Trump Stared Directly At The Sun During The Solar Eclipse," 21 Aug. 2017
There was no indication that homes or businesses were damaged in the incident, police said.

— howard koplowitz, AL.com, "2 men injured in Fairhope plane crash," 18 Aug. 2017
Pead was the subject of a feature by SportingNews.com's Alex Marvez after a November car accident severed his left leg and damaged his right leg.

— dave clark, Cincinnati.com, "Isaiah Pead, former UC Bearcats star running back, visits Miami Dolphins," 14 Aug. 2017
In its 2015 regulation, EPA relied on a statute that regulated use of ozone-depleting substances, but the refrigerants -- called hydrofluorocarbons -- don’t damage the ozone layer, Judge Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the court’s decision.

— ari natter, Bloomberg.com, "Court Tosses an Obama-Era Climate Rule That Trump Had Defended," 8 Aug. 2017
Republican who was already facing a tough reelection fight next year in increasingly blue Nevada, has badly damaged his standing with an incoherent health-care strategy.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Nevada Senator Dean Heller Draws 2018 Primary Challenger," 8 Aug. 2017
Some researchers also worry that spraying sulfur dioxide into the high stratosphere could damage the ozone layer, though recent research has suggested this risk is smaller than once thought.

— robinson meyer, The Atlantic, "To Stop Global Warming, Should Humanity Dim the Sky?," 7 Aug. 2017

Origin and Etymology of damage

see ¹damage

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

damage Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

doctor, fix, mend, patch, rebuild, recondition, reconstruct, renovate, repair, revamp

Related Words

deteriorate, enervate, enfeeble, undermine, weaken; erode, scour, wash out, wear (away); blight, tarnish; dent, ding, dint; botch, gum (up), queer; lacerate, wound; disable, hamstring, lame, maim, mangle, mutilate, torment, torture; annihilate, bang up, bash, batter, clobber, crush, dash, decimate, demolish, desolate, destroy, devastate, do in, pulverize, raze, ruin, scourge, shatter, smash, tear down, total, waste, wipe out, wreck

Near Antonyms

cure, heal, help, rectify, rehabilitate, remedy; edit, remodel, revise; ameliorate, better, enhance, enrich, improve, meliorate, perfect, refine

Synonym Discussion of 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

DAMAGE Defined for English Language Learners

damage

noun

Definition of damage for English Language Learners

: physical harm that is done to something or to someone's body
: emotional harm that is done to someone
: problems that are caused by a mistake, wrong action, etc. : bad or harmful effects on a situation, a person's reputation, etc.

damage

verb

Definition of damage for English Language Learners

: to physically harm (something)
: to cause problems in or for (something) : to have a bad effect on (a situation, a person's reputation, etc.)

DAMAGE Defined for Kids

damage

noun dam·age \ ˈda-mij \

Definition of damage for Students

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

How much damage was done to the car?

2 damages plural :money demanded or paid according to law for injury or damage The jury awarded $50,000 in damages.

damage

verb

Definition of damage for Students

damaged; damaging

:to cause harm or loss to

Law Dictionary

damage

noun dam·age

legal Definition of damage

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 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

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

2 :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

Origin and Etymology of damage

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

damage

adjective

legal Definition of damage

:of or relating to damages

a damage action

a damage remedy

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damage

Definition of damage

damageability

damager

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Origin and Etymology of damage

damage Synonyms

Synonyms

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DAMAGE Defined for English Language Learners

damage

Definition of damage for English Language Learners

damage

Definition of damage for English Language Learners

DAMAGE Defined for Kids

damage

Definition of damage for Students

damage

Definition of damage for Students

Law Dictionary

damage

legal Definition of damage

Origin and Etymology of damage

damage

legal Definition of damage

Learn More about damage

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