damage
Americannoun
-
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)
-
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
-
nondamageableadjective
-
quasi-damagedadjective
-
undamageableadjective
-
undamagedadjective
-
damaginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
damagesimple
-
damagessimple
-
have damagedperfect
-
has damagedperfect
-
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:
District officials took the unprecedented step of shutting down all district computer systems to limit the damage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
It exploded, setting off the fire alarm and causing damage to the front door and the hallway.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
In addition, 71 percent of claims were compensated either partially or in full, with that figure rising to 93 percent for homes where the damage exceeded 150,000 euros.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
We know how damaging it is, and we know what group is doing the damage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
“Get yourself on that Red Road again. Turn your back on the things that damage yourself and others. Commit to positive change. And speak your truth—or whatever it is kids say these days.”
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
A TV presenter and a social media commentator have apologised and will pay damages to the deputy leader of the Green Party after wrongly suggesting he participated in disorder.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
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
He’d also been convicted of fraud for a scam in which he got an obituary of himself published, then sued the newspaper for libel and damages up to $100 million.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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
But the longer it goes on, Dubois' jab will do damage and Wardley's nose will be damaged again.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Stupnikov emerged from a street flanked by damaged buildings and took his first steps into no-man’s-land.
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
His left leg was permanently damaged from an accident eleven years before, when a trolley crashed into his horse-drawn carriage.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
Storms are most often named when potentially damaging winds are forecast, but can also be named for flooding rain or disruptive snow.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
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
The remnants of tropical storm Rachel brought rain and gnarly ocean conditions to much of Southern California, damaging homes in Newport Beach and flooding the Coachella Valley.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
He had seen what happened when a contractor failed to do this: ladders careening through windows and walls, tools damaging furniture, paint all over the lawn and driveway.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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