damage control

American  

noun

1. a department or group, as aboard a naval vessel, responsible for taking action to control damage caused by fire, collision, etc.

2. any efforts, as by a company, to curtail losses, counteract unfavorable publicity, etc.

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damage control Idioms  

1. Measures to minimize or curtail loss or harm. For example, As soon as they discovered the leak to the press, the senator's office worked night and day on damage control. Used literally since the 1950s, specifically for limiting the effect of an accident on a ship, this term began to be used figuratively in the 1970s.

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Other Word Forms

• damage-control
  adjective

Example Sentences

Is there any damage control that can be done?

From Slate • May 7, 2026

Whittlesey said he suspects that the combination of flood-control requirements and damage control after the pipe failure is likely costing them tens of thousands of acre-feet of snowmelt.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026

The Navy acknowledged there had been some issues, citing the vessel's leadership as saying "clog incidents are addressed promptly by trained damage control and engineering personnel, with minimal downtime".

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Such damage control could revive their stocks after this year’s brutal selloff, driven by fears that AI would render software and services providers irrelevant.

From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026

It was stunning news, after three months of hand-wringing and damage control at the highest levels of the KGB.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau