damage

noun dam·age \ ˈda-mij \

|Updated on: 22 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: damage in a Sentence

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

Cook met with Trump earlier this year to dissuade him from levying tariffs against goods manufactured in China, citing the damage such a trade war would do to American companies.

— hallie detrick, Fortune, "The Trump Administration Told Apple CEO Tim Cook the iPhone Would Be Spared From China Tariffs," 19 June 2018
Cypress Creek, the largest of the county watersheds, faced significant flooding and damage during Hurricane Harvey.

— jane stueckemann, Houston Chronicle, "Cypress Creek-area residents review county flood control plans," 19 June 2018
The watch in the story is an emblem of what Salinger’s work is so often about: trying to find connection in a world that can both disappoint and damage.

— joe fassler, The Atlantic, "What J.D. Salinger Understood About Missed Connections," 19 June 2018
The musical was slated to run June 26 to July 1 in Whitney Hall but officials said damage following the fire forced the cancellation.

— darcy costello, The Courier-Journal, "'Waitress' canceled due to fire damage at the Kentucky Center," 19 June 2018
The park service bans hovercraft over concerns about noise and potential damage to wetlands and tundra.

— zaz hollander, Anchorage Daily News, "U.S. Supreme Court agrees to reconsider case of Alaska moose hunter and his hovercraft," 18 June 2018
The story of the builder provides a good example of how the brain decided to create pain despite there being no bodily damage, but what about the other side of that coin?

— todd o’leary, Philly.com, "What happens to your body when you experience pain?," 18 June 2018
The interstate reopened shortly after noon, but the Idaho Transportation Department said the Cloverdale overpass, which was damaged by fire, would remain closed indefinitely as crews survey the extent of the damage.

— john sowell, idahostatesman, "These Boise brothers ran back to help the injured in freeway crash that killed 4," 18 June 2018
The behavior patterns must be severe and result in significant damage to a person’s social life, family relations, education, or other areas of functioning to be diagnosed as a disorder.

— elly belle, Teen Vogue, ""Gaming Disorder" Is Officially a Mental Health Condition," 18 June 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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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

The suit seeks class action status, to include all credit union members who had fake loans taken out in their names, had money misappropriated or diverted or those whose credit reports were damaged as a result of the wrongdoing.

— matthew glowicki, The Courier-Journal, "Credit union worker accused of stealing from cops now faces foreclosure," 6 June 2018
Streets will be clogged with debris; traffic lights won’t work; bridges will be damaged, the USGS says.

— rong-gong lin ii and sarah parvini, sacbee, "The Big One could leave 250,000 to 400,000 quake refugees in California. Where will they go?," 3 June 2018
Their backyard was flooded, the gate of the backyard fence was cracked, and the boiler, water heater and furnace were damaged.

— cody boteler, baltimoresun.com, "Catonsville house only one deemed 'unsafe' after flooding in Baltimore County," 1 June 2018
And exaggerated threats have been just as damaging to public faith in the intelligence community as threats that went undetected.

— massimo calabresi, Time, "Former Intelligence Chiefs Explain How President Trump Sows Distrust to His Advantage," 31 May 2018
Jeff Kositsky, the city’s director of homelessness services, cites the example of a driver for Lyft, a ride-hailing service, who nearly fell into homelessness after his car was damaged.

— The Economist, "Can a new mayor fix San Francisco’s housing and homelessness problems?," 31 May 2018
The young minds needed to rebuild a country so fractured and destroyed are coming back in force to attend classes at the prestigious institution, which was heavily damaged during the fighting.

— ivor prickett, New York Times, "A Drink in a Bar, a Dip in the Tigris: Mosul Returns to Life," 29 May 2018
Andretti and Cogan were out of the race, Foyt’s front left wing was damaged.

— david j. neal, miamiherald, "Here are the six best Indy 500s ever — by generation | Miami Herald," 25 May 2018
In Hawaii, state lawmakers passed legislation to ban sunscreen products with oxybenzone and octinoxate, claiming the two ingredients are damaging to coral reefs.

— fiza pirani, ajc, "Study finds 67 percent of sunscreens don’t actually work — find one that does," 22 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of damage

see ¹damage

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined above

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