damage
Americannoun
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damages
plural
-
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)
-
damages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
damaged,
past participle, past
-
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
-
(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
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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
-
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
-
have been damagingperfect progressive
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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:
Such safety considerations are particularly weighty for SUVs and trucks, which have longer stopping distances and can cause more damage during collisions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
"That tells us the damage is not irreversible, and that there may be a window for intervention even after disease processes have been triggered."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
Berney in his email offered to reimburse Afram’s company for the missing drive or create a new digital cinema package, but Afram said the damage was much greater than that, according to the lawsuit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
This week President Vladimir Putin conceded that attacks on industrial facilities and infrastructure "do inflict damage; this is obvious. We understand this, we see it."
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
While small doses of radiation may do some damage, they are unlikely to affect enough atoms to cause real trouble.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
A 2021 law allows people to sue for damages when private detention center operators fail to follow the care standards laid out in their contracts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
A judge later added hundreds of millions of dollars in punitive damages, bringing that judgment to roughly $1.4 billion.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
Legal scholars have debated whether surrogates should pay legal damages if they fail to honor a contractual abortion provision, surrender payments remaining on the contract, or even pay back money they already received.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
The conglomerate said it is seeking more than US$1.5 billion in damages for the “destruction of the company’s investments” in the country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
“Like reparations? For damages inflicted upon me by your son?”
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
The research shows how geographical studies can help shape practical strategies for restoring damaged landscapes.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
It was damaged in the 19th century, but a computer reconstruction shows what it may have looked like.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Damage was reported at 10 healthcare facilities in the Ayacucho region and two were damaged in the neighbouring Cusco region, but services remained operational, Peru's National Institute of Civil Defence said.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
‘This is very stressful’: My son’s roof was damaged in a storm, but his insurance won’t pay.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
When Agnew saw the damaged backbone, he stuck his little finger through the hole created by Guiteau's bullet.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
To those of us who have worked in digital assets for years, this is a familiar movie, and we know how damaging the ending can be without federal pre-emption.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Critics say the burden on young professionals is particularly damaging because they are typically an economy’s most prolific spenders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Work to remove the coins got under way in May last year following concerns the coins were damaging the causeway's rocks.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Around 2,000 had been evacuated from nearby villages as the fire ripped through the surrounding hills, damaging homes and destroying cars in the early hours.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Yep, whenever I had a seizure, I was damaging my damage.
From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
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.
