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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

damage control

Inside Navatek, Kao shifted into damage control mode.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

The BBC's Mark Savage looks at the controversy over Sheeran's US tour and why it is in "damage control mode".

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Cerimedo set up the hit, prosecutors charge, in a nefarious attempt at damage control.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

The next week, Gates’s nuclear power company TerraPower was engaging in its own form of reputational damage control.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

In private Oval Office meetings, Nixon, Bob Haldeman, and John Ehrlichman discussed options for damage control.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

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