detriment

[ de-truh-muh nt ]

/ ˈdɛ trə mənt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR detriment ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

loss, damage, disadvantage, or injury.

a cause of loss or damage.

Nearby words

detractively, detractor, detractory, detrain, detribalize, detriment, detrimental, detrimentally, detrition, detritivore, detritovore

Origin of detriment

1400–50; late Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin dētrīmentum loss, damage, equivalent to dētrī- (see detritus) + -mentum -ment

Synonym study

1. See damage.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for detriment

There seems to be so much pressure to reinvent the wheel these days, to a detriment when it comes to TV programming.
Can Maya Rudolph Save the Variety Show?|Kevin Fallon|May 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But according to Rob Lowe, a man who possesses all of these qualities, being too pretty as an actor is actually a detriment.
Rob Lowe: Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful|Tricia Romano|April 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We take our cultural icons very seriously, often to both their detriment and ours.
Proustapalooza: Going Crazy for Marcel’s Novel at 100|Elisabeth Ladenson|October 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In geopolitics, this is where regions or states fracture into smaller, mutually-hostile units to the detriment of all.
Twitchy! Michelle Malkin's Phony War|Tom Doran|April 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST

I really like jackets, and tend to buy them to the detriment of my need of all the other items.
Ali Smith: How I Write|Noah Charney|January 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And now let us ask what is the work which Russia is doing beyond the Caucasus for the advantage or detriment of mankind?
Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea, the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c.|Xavier Hommaire de Hell
The valuable consideration is the detriment or responsibility of B in guarding the house for two hours.
Cyclopedia of Commerce, Accountancy, Business Administration, v. 3|Various
He knew that he was about to pursue a course which would be to his own detriment, but he felt it impossible now to turn aside.
How It All Came Round|L. T. Meade
An army gains a victory, and at once the rights of the conquering nation have increased to the detriment of the defeated.
War and Peace|Leo Tolstoy
What in the world can be more ridiculous than commercial laws carried out to one's own detriment?
Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, Complete|Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne

British Dictionary definitions for detriment

detriment

/ (ˈdɛtrɪmənt) /

noun

disadvantage or damage; harm; loss

a cause of disadvantage or damage

Word Origin for detriment

C15: from Latin dētrīmentum, a rubbing off, hence damage, from dēterere to rub away, from de- + terere to rub

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for detriment

detriment

early 15c., from Middle French détriment or directly from Latin detrimentum "a rubbing off; a loss, damage, defeat," from past participle stem of detere "to wear away," figuratively "to weaken, impair," from de- "away" (see de-) + terere "to rub, wear" (see throw (v.)).

detriment

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of detriment

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for detriment

British Dictionary definitions for detriment

detriment

noun

Word Origin for detriment

Word Origin and History for detriment

detriment