damage

noun dam·age \ ˈda-mij \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

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

Officials investigated damage to several headstones at the Christian Aid Society cemetery on March 8.

— lavendrick smith, charlotteobserver, "Charlotte man accused of plowing through cemetery, damaging headstones | Charlotte Observer," 11 Apr. 2018
Eakin said damage to reefs from these heat waves was first seen in 1983 in coral bleaching events, which have increased in frequency and intensity.

— jason samenow, Washington Post, "Heat waves over the ocean have ballooned and are wreaking havoc on marine life," 11 Apr. 2018
According to a Town of Brookfield police report, there was no damage to the car, but the person was missing lottery tickets, checks, and $25,867 in cash.

— karen pilarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Over $25,000 in cash stolen from unlocked car in Town of Brookfield," 10 Apr. 2018
The problem started in February, when the hotel’s majority owner, Orestes Fintiklis, tried to fire the Trump Organization as its manager, alleging mismanagement by local officials and damage to the Trump brand.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Organization to Panama’s President: Help Us, Or Face ‘Repercussions’," 10 Apr. 2018
Because of the potential damage to legitimate attorney-client relationships caused by these mass seizures of records, U.S. Attorneys are trained to explore alternatives to these warrants when evidence is sought from a practicing attorney.

— NBC News, "For Trump and Cohen, attorney-client privilege goes only so far," 10 Apr. 2018
Upon arrival, Officer Ortega observed the vacant home under construction to have damage to the entrance door.

— Houston Chronicle, "Bellaire Police Department report," 9 Apr. 2018
The bitter standoff in Panama began in October when the owners of the hotel — which was run by Trump under a management agreement — sought to fire his company, citing damage to Trump's brand and mismanagement by hotel officials.

— Bloomberg.com, "Trump’s Company Asked Panama’s President for Help in Hotel Dispute," 9 Apr. 2018
Criminal damaging, Tudor Avenue: A woman came to the Brunswick Police Department at 9:25 p.m. April 3 to report damage to a tire on her car.

— brian lisik/special to cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "Driver cited after holding up traffic at green light: Brunswick Police Blotter," 9 Apr. 2018

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

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

More seriously, doubts about U.S. reliability or trustworthiness as a trade partner could damage its trade interests down the road.

— michael hiltzik, latimes.com, "Trump's trade war won't achieve what he wants, but it will hurt American workers and consumers," 5 Apr. 2018
Tao Wang, chief China economist at UBS, says China’s economy could be damaged notably if tariffs are imposed.

— lingling wei, WSJ, "U.S. Announces Tariffs on $50 Billion of China Imports," 3 Apr. 2018
Condom inhalation poses serious risks like choking and could also damage the nose's inner lining, according to Forbes contributor and associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Bruce Y. Lee.

— rosemary donahue, Allure, "The Viral Condom-Snorting Challenge Is Exactly as Dangerous as It Sounds," 2 Apr. 2018
One hundred and twenty eight goods in all, this move by China's heightening fears of a possible trade war that could damage the global economy.

— Fox News, "Former US attorney general Ed Meese on working with Reagan," 1 Apr. 2018
Striking workers noticed the Peepsmobile, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle adorned with a giant look-alike chick head, had disappeared from the front of the factory, to be found later locked up in a cage where it could not be damaged.

— damian paletta, courant.com, "In land of Peeps, ﬁght threatens US pension plans," 30 Mar. 2018
Striking workers noticed the Peepsmobile, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle adorned with a giant look-alike chick head, had disappeared from the front of the factory, to be found later locked up in a cage where it could not be damaged.

— damian paletta, chicagotribune.com, "In land of Peeps, ﬁght threatens U.S. pension plans," 30 Mar. 2018
Under one hypothetical scenario, if Samcrac decided to perform a dangerous stunt on the road with the car that endangered lives, the Domino's brand could be damaged, Rothchild said.

— jc reindl, Detroit Free Press, "YouTuber who bought, fixed Domino's Pizza car facing legal threats," 29 Mar. 2018
Sacramento's happy veneer of diversity could be damaged for years to come because enough of us remain polarized over why Clark died and what should be done about it.

— marcos bretón, sacbee, "Our Stephon Clark lie - ‘Diverse’ Sacramento is not as tolerant as we think | The Sacramento Bee," 29 Mar. 2018

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;

Near Antonyms

cure, heal, help, rectify, rehabilitate, remedy;

edit, remodel, revise;

ameliorate, better, enhance, enrich, improve, meliorate, perfect, refine;

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;

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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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for damage Spanish Central: Translation of damage Nglish: Translation of damage for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of damage for Arabic speakers

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damage

Definition of damage

Examples of damage in a Sentence

Recent Examples of damage from the Web

Origin and Etymology of damage

damage Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

damage

Definition of damage

damageability

damager

Examples of damage in a Sentence

Recent Examples of damage from the Web

Origin and Etymology of damage

damage Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of damage

Phrases Related to DAMAGE

Related Phrases

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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