damn
Americanverb (used with object)
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damns,
present (3rd person singular)
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damned,
past participle, past
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damning
present participle
-
to declare (something) to be bad, unfit, invalid, or illegal.
-
to condemn as a failure.
to damn a play.
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to bring condemnation upon; ruin.
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to doom to eternal punishment or condemn to hell.
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to swear at or curse, using the word “damn”.
Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!
verb (used without object)
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damns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
damned,
past participle, past
-
damning
present participle
interjection
noun
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damns
plural
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the utterance of “damn” in swearing or for emphasis.
-
something of negligible value.
not worth a damn.
adjective
adverb
idioms
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give a damn, to care; be concerned; consider as important: Also give a darn.
You shouldn't give a damn about their opinions.
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damn with faint praise, to praise so moderately as, in effect, to condemn.
The critic damned the opera with faint praise when he termed the production adequate.
-
damn well, damned.
interjection
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slang an exclamation of annoyance (often in exclamatory phrases such as damn it! damn you! etc)
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informal an exclamation of surprise or pleasure (esp in the exclamatory phrase damn me! )
adjective
adverb
adverb
verb
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to condemn as bad, worthless, etc
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to curse
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to condemn to eternal damnation
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(often passive) to doom to ruin; cause to fail
the venture was damned from the start
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(also intr) to prove (someone) guilty
damning evidence
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to swear (at) using the word damn
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informal as near as possible; very near
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to praise so unenthusiastically that the effect is condemnation
noun
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slang something of negligible value; jot (esp in the phrase not worth a damn )
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informal to be unconcerned; not care
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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damnsimple
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damnssimple
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have damnedperfect
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has damnedperfect
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am damningprogressive
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are damningprogressive
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is damningprogressive
-
have been damningperfect progressive
-
has been damningperfect progressive
Past
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damnedsimple
-
had damnedperfect
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was damningprogressive
-
were damningprogressive
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had been damningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of damn
1250–1300; Middle English dam ( p ) nen < Old French dam ( p ) ner < Latin damnāre to condemn, derivative of damnum damage, fine, harm
Explanation
Damn is a common, somewhat naughty exclamation. In one sense it means to condemn or send someone to hell, as in "God damn it!" Other times it means "a little amount," as in "I don't give a damn about baseball." People can give a damn, damn others to hell, and complain about the damn weather. Some religious people believe their sins could damn them to an eternity of torment and hellfire. You should be careful when peppering your speech with damn, as it might offend some ears. But sometimes damn can be used positively, as in "They make the best damn pizza in town!"
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:
“It certainly wasn’t flawless,” Riley said, “but it was pretty damn good.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
“When you have zero, trying to figure out how to get to one is damn near impossible. Once you have one, it’s easier to figure out how to get to two.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
"Taylor's so damn nice to my family and has always been," he told Entertainment Tonight, external last year.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Finally understanding what they’re up against still doesn’t give him any answers about what made this place so damn haunted.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
It was ’cause our brains were going mad loopy from being so damn hungry.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
When Mr. Marx acclaims “Old Town Road” as an “incredible homegrown feat,” he praises what he damns elsewhere as the second sickness of our age.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
Sand is essential for constructing buildings, roads, hydroelectric damns and solar panels.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2023
Stone appears to give neither of these damns, opting for an approach that forgoes fidelity in favor of an aggressive examination of the internal and external forces laying siege to Lucia’s sanity.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 24, 2022
With her final breath, she damns him to a life without Love.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2021
The country squire damns a court life, and would not go cringing and creeping to a drawing-room for the best place the king has at his disposal.
From ?sop's Fables, Embellished with One Hundred and Eleven Emblematical Devices. by ?sop
He annulled her royal title; declared their only child, Elizabeth, illegitimate; and damned her memory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
This route brings people together, including me and my car enthusiast friends, who regularly go on these driving excursions — gas prices be damned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
You’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
Widow’s Bay’s founders damned themselves and all their descendants by burying their iniquity instead of living with it long enough to dispel it and learn from that mistake.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
“Happy to do it. Between you and me, I think he’s damned glad to get out of the house.”
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
This is not as damning a result as it otherwise might seem.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
One damning part of the plan involved a potential future role for Infantino in the investment fund.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
And, most damning of all, he disappointed Lionel Messi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
When Jack pairs cut-outs of Manny’s stills with his audio, he forms a crude piece of damning evidence.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
As far as Moss could tell, Javier enjoyed him through text, but he was so afraid that he’d hear those damning words again: “I’m just not into you like that.”
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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.
