damage
Americannoun
-
damages
plural
-
injury or harm that reduces value or usefulness.
The storm did considerable damage to the crops.
- Synonyms:
- loss
-
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)
-
damaged,
past participle, past
-
damaging
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
damages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
damaged,
past participle, past
-
damaging
present participle
noun
-
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
-
(tr) to cause damage to
-
(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
-
damageabilitynoun
-
damageablenessnoun
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damagernoun
-
predamagenoun
-
redamageverb (used with object)
-
damageableadjective
-
damagingadjective
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nondamageableadjective
-
quasi-damagedadjective
-
undamageableadjective
-
undamagedadjective
-
damaginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
damagesimple
-
damagessimple
-
have damagedperfect
-
has damagedperfect
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am damagingprogressive
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are damagingprogressive
-
is damagingprogressive
-
have been damagingperfect progressive
-
has been damagingperfect progressive
Past
-
damagedsimple
-
had damagedperfect
-
was damagingprogressive
-
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:
Aurangzeb expressed alarm at the escalation, saying damage to such sites would delay a return to economic normalcy.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
The worst damage was in the facilities division, where about half the servers were encrypted — meaning that district staff could not access their own systems and records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Earlier this year, four of the group's activists were jailed after causing £1.2m of damage at a UK site of an Israel-based defence firm.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
In effect, exercise helps muscles perform an important internal cleanup, making it easier for them to maintain healthy tissue and recover from damage.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Their spray doesn’t cause any real damage, but boy, is it stinky!
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
Lakeeta Vaccaro Hill was denied punitive damages by the six-person jury that deliberated for less than four hours.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Disasters costing at least $1 billion totaled more than $115 billion of damages in 2025, nearly four times the annual average in the 1990s, according to a Ceres study.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
The FDA has approved the first drug designed to directly treat Alexander disease, an extremely rare neurological disorder that progressively damages the nervous system and can be fatal.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Torrential rains sparked historic flooding in southern Brazil in April and May of that year, leaving nearly 200 people dead, 500,000 more displaced and massive damages.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
Allied forces would temporarily occupy a band of German territory along the Rhine River, and Germany would be required to pay reparations, or damages, for the loss and destruction caused by the war.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
But the longer it goes on, Dubois' jab will do damage and Wardley's nose will be damaged again.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
In an update on Friday evening, Division 3 Fire Chief Mark Backoff said that six homes had either been damaged or destroyed by the Norte Fire, and one firefighter had been injured from heat exhaustion.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
American bombers damaged his shop and home in early 1945.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
They are also challenging to modify genetically and can be damaged during freezing and storage, complicating the production and distribution of cell therapies.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Klava herself was wounded in the leg, and before long, fire began to spread along the wing of their Pe-2 from the damaged engine.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
We know how damaging it is, and we know what group is doing the damage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The warming phase of a natural climate cycle, El Nino events temporarily elevate global temperatures, altering cloud and wind patterns, and raise the risk of damaging weather.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Oxidative stress occurs when harmful reactive molecules overwhelm the body's protective defenses, potentially damaging cells and interfering with tissue repair.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
A major river in Nepal has flooded, sweeping away houses, bridges and damaging a part of hydropower station, authorities have said.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
It had survived heavy snows, sheets of rain, and damaging hail.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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