damage control
Americannoun
-
a department or group, as aboard a naval vessel, responsible for taking action to control damage caused by fire, collision, etc.
-
any efforts, as by a company, to curtail losses, counteract unfavorable publicity, etc.
Other Word Forms
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.
"It was a hush email," and "an effort to damage control," says one worker - while another says it made her "furious".
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
Is there any damage control that can be done?
From Slate ● May 7, 2026
In the days after OpenAI signed its contract with the Pentagon, the company went into damage control mode.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
But by the time he got there, his monologue had been transformed from a pure celebration of his overnight success into an exercise in damage control.
From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2026
Visiting him again was a risk, but I needed to do some damage control.
From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos
![]()
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.