damage
Americannoun
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damages
plural
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injury or harm that reduces value or usefulness.
The storm did considerable damage to the crops.
- Synonyms:
- loss
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Law. damages, the estimated money equivalent for detriment or injury sustained.
-
Informal. Often damages. cost; expense; charge.
What are the damages for the lubrication job on my car?
verb (used with object)
-
damages,
present (3rd person singular)
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damaged,
past participle, past
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damaging
present participle
verb (used without object)
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damages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
damaged,
past participle, past
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damaging
present participle
noun
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injury or harm impairing the function or condition of a person or thing
-
loss of something desirable
-
informal cost; expense (esp in the phrase what's the damage? )
verb
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(tr) to cause damage to
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(intr) to suffer damage
Synonym Usage
Damage, detriment, harm, mischief refer to injuries of various kinds. Damage is the kind of injury or the effect of injury that directly impairs appearance, value, usefulness, soundness, etc.: Fire causes damage to property. Detriment is a falling off from an original condition as the result of damage, depreciation, devaluation, etc.: Overeating is a detriment to health. Harm may denote either physical hurt or mental, moral, or spiritual injury: bodily harm; harm to one's self-confidence. Mischief may be damage, harm, trouble, or misfortune caused by a person, especially if maliciously: an enemy who would do one mischief.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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damageabilitynoun
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damageablenessnoun
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damagernoun
-
predamagenoun
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redamageverb (used with object)
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damageableadjective
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damagingadjective
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nondamageableadjective
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quasi-damagedadjective
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undamageableadjective
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undamagedadjective
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damaginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
damagesimple
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damagessimple
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have damagedperfect
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has damagedperfect
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am damagingprogressive
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are damagingprogressive
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is damagingprogressive
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have been damagingperfect progressive
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has been damagingperfect progressive
Past
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damagedsimple
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had damagedperfect
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was damagingprogressive
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were damagingprogressive
-
had been damagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of damage
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, equivalent to dam (from Latin damnum “damage, fine”) + -age -age; see damn
Explanation
When you damage something you hurt it in a way that makes it less valuable or useful. Say you throw a baseball and it flies over your friend's head and cracks your dad's windshield. Congratulations, you've damaged your dad's car. Damage can also be a noun. That crack in the windshield? It doesn't matter whether you 'fess up or blame your friend or a giant falling acorn. It made the car less valuable and harder to drive, therefore it is considered damage. Another meaning of damage implies the damage done to your wallet when you buy something. In a restaurant, you might hear someone ask "What's the damage?" when the check comes to the table.
Vocabulary lists containing damage
"Handle with Care"
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"The Clever Magistrate"
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New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
However, the British Museum said the embroidery was "virtually unchanged" with thread breaks, measuring a few millimetres at most, not considered significant damage.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Production could take weeks to ramp back up, while damage to the Ras Laffan facility is expected to keep output below capacity for the next three to five years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
The damage occurred after a Los Angeles coastal flooding warning was issued linked to Tropical Storm Marie, which was previously a hurricane.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Farther south in San Clemente, high tides also overran a section of the long-vulnerable coastal railway, once again shuttering the route after considerable slope damage and erosion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
“Can you imagine the damage she could do, if she told the wrong people about your work?”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
The court said "both sides bore equal responsibility for the breakdown of the marriage" and therefore granted the divorce but rejected Lee's claim for damages, she added.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Not only is El Niño a leading driver of climate and weather hazards, but it imposes “tremendous economic costs, ecological damages, and human suffering globally,” according to the Science study.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Earlier this year, billionaire hedge-fund manager John Paulson settled his divorce case after a five-year legal battle in which his ex-wife sought more than $1 billion in damages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
She has now begun proceedings at the High Court seeking damages from the airline to help her access specialist support for her back.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
I’ve already asked Father to compensate him for the damages, especially since Dussel only gets one bar of inferior wartime soap a month.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
The American companies could argue that their sales are damaged by Chinese distillation, since distillation could allow Chinese rivals to develop competitive models at lower cost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
“Our priority is to get in and complete any rescues if possible. In this case, the plane was heavily damaged and we were not able to extricate any of the victims,” Raines said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
The failed valve was sent for examination by Wartsila which found that a metal casing was damaged, probably worn away by another component that had worked loose.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
To investigate how neutrophils influence healing, the researchers studied larval zebrafish, which are able to regenerate damaged spinal cords.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026
The Japanese destroyed or damaged three navy cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer, leading our nation into World War II. One hundred eighty-eight US aircraft were destroyed.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
This week Hurricane Lowell lashed Hawaii with damaging winds, heavy rainfall and powerful floods, blacking out power across most of one island.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Severe convective storms are damaging storms that can include thunderstorms with lightning, tornadoes or destructive winds, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
In 2021, an ice-and-rock avalanche in northern India killed more than 200 people and destroyed one hydropower project while severely damaging another.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Adhesive tape allowed them to collect tiny mineral grains from the stones without damaging the monument.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
I don’t know how anyone could want to cut it for wands, but that explains why magic is corrupt—making wands requires damaging something rare and powerful.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
