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

See Examples For:

damage control

Brad Cooper, took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal to do damage control.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

As word of the attacks spread, Jordan’s government, normally reticent about foreign military deployments in the country, embarked on damage control.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Is there any damage control that can be done?

From Slate ● May 7, 2026

The Navy acknowledged there had been some issues, citing the vessel's leadership as saying "clog incidents are addressed promptly by trained damage control and engineering personnel, with minimal downtime".

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