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

Deploying botanical damage control, drawings were overlaid with the outlines of luxuriant trees.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 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 fire prompted a major damage control response, with sailors working for hours to contain the blaze and ensure it had not spread to other parts of the ship, officials said.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Everyone cleared out, but Principal DeShields hovered outside the doorway, probably mentally strategizing damage control.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson