damage

noun

dam·age | \ ˈda-mij

Definition of damage

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

verb

damaged; damaging

Definition of damage (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to cause damage (see damage entry 1 sense 1) to don't damage the furniture returning soldiers damaged by war

Other Words from damage Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about damage

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Choose the Right Synonym for damage

Verb

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, but it was too late. 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 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 on the Web: Noun

The anthocyanins found in red cabbage can help boost circulation, protect your cardiovascular system, and offset damage to your body’s cells. — Jaclyn London, Ms, Rd, Cdn, Good Housekeeping, "Fact: Cabbage Packs the Same Nutritional Benefits as Kale," 7 Jan. 2019 In fact, much has been written about the barriers people who use wheelchairs face when traveling, from damage to their wheelchairs to the judgment and mistreatment ambulatory wheelchair users have reported. — Brittney Mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "Nyle DiMarco Said an Airline Gave Him a Wheelchair After a Flight Seemingly Because He's Deaf," 20 Dec. 2018 But in that case, both Gore and George W. Bush emphasized the importance of respecting the results (at least publicly), working to repair the reputational damage to the system and protect its legitimacy. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "The Republican Party versus democracy," 17 Dec. 2018 Any ingredient that reduces free-radical damage to the skin. — Allure, "The Skin-Care Glossary: A Comprehensive Guide to Everything You Need to Know," 17 Aug. 2018 The jury earlier ordered J&J to pay them $550 million in compensatory damages, bringing the total to $4.69 billion. — Tim Bross, Time, "Women Claimed Johnson & Johnson's Talc Powder Gave Them Cancer. They Just Won $4.7 Billion in Damages," 14 July 2018 It was comprised of $550 million in compensatory damages and $4.14 billion in punitive damages. — NBC News, "Johnson & Johnson told to pay $4.7 billion in baby powder case," 13 July 2018 Much of the damage to tombs in Xinjiang, however, may have taken place in the last 15 years, according to Caspari and his colleagues. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Satellites watch over the graves of ancient steppe nomads," 26 Dec. 2018 The video, shared on YouTube, shows a nightmarish amount of damage to the warship. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Watch Underwater Footage from Helge Ingstad—Norway’s Newest Submarine," 19 Dec. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

These tools could be used for misinformation and propaganda and might erode public trust in pictorial evidence, a trend that could damage the justice system as well as politics. — James Vincent, The Verge, "These faces show how far AI image generation has advanced in just four years," 17 Dec. 2018 Not only that, there are a lot of sensitive organs in your pelvis that could accidentally be damaged during radiation therapy, Dr. Rubin says. — Korin Miller, SELF, "What Are My Options for Ovarian Cancer Treatment?," 13 Dec. 2018 Either of these could potentially damage or alter genes that are not the intended targets of the editing, which would have unpredictable effects on health. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Scientists, ethicists slam decisions behind gene-edited twins," 30 Nov. 2018 New York’s new Amazon Go store will sit adjacent to Brookfield Place’s Winter Garden atrium — a 10-story glass pavilion that was damaged in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011. — Jason Del Rey, Recode, "New York City’s first Amazon Go cashierless store will open near the World Trade Center," 23 Oct. 2018 Rescue efforts will continue into Thursday, but have been complicated by the fact that the bridge providing the only road and rail access to the airport from the mainland was badly damaged in the storm. — Katherine Lagrave, Condé Nast Traveler, "Typhoon Jebi Batters Japan, Forces Airport Closure," 5 Sep. 2018 Jungle George's owner told police the Minion suit was also damaged in the attack. — Howard Cohen, miamiherald, "Florida man body slams partially blind man in a Minion costume in a ‘prank’ gone wrong," 11 July 2018 The person who placed the order claimed that two other Dell servers were damaged in shipment. — David Owens, courant.com, "California Man Charged In West Hartford Computer Scam Seeks Special Form Of Probation," 10 July 2018 Some vendors saw their goods damaged in what has become a regular nuisance in downtown Annapolis. — Talia Richman, baltimoresun.com, "Annapolis Boat Show will 'rise above' after flooding during last year's event," 7 July 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.

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Last Updated

19 Jan 2019

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The first known use of damage was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for damage

damage

noun

English Language Learners Definition of damage

(Entry 1 of 2)

: 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

English Language Learners Definition of damage (Entry 2 of 2)

: to physically harm (something)

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

See the full definition for damage in the English Language Learners Dictionary

damage

noun

dam·age | \ ˈda-mij

Kids Definition of damage

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

damaged; damaging

Kids Definition of damage (Entry 2 of 2)

: to cause harm or loss to

damage

noun

dam·age

Legal Definition of damage

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

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.