damage

[dam-ij] /ˈdæm ɪdʒ/

noun

injury or harm that reduces value or usefulness:

The storm did considerable damage to the crops.

damages, Law. the estimated money equivalent for detriment or injury sustained.

Often, damages. Informal. cost; expense; charge:

What are the damages for the lubrication job on my car?

verb (used with object), damaged, damaging.

to cause damage to; injure or harm; reduce the value or usefulness of:

He damaged the saw on a nail.

verb (used without object), damaged, damaging.

to become damaged:

Soft wood damages easily.

Origin

1250-1300; Middle English < Old French, equivalent to dam (< Latin damnum damage, fine) + -age -age; see damn

Related forms

damageable, adjective

damageableness, damageability, noun

damager, noun

nondamageable, adjective

predamage, noun, verb (used with object), predamaged, predamaging.

quasi-damaged, adjective

redamage, verb (used with object), redamaged, redamaging.

undamageable, adjective

undamaged, adjective

Synonyms

1. loss. Damage, detriment, harm, mischief refer to injuries of various kinds. Damage is the kind of injury or the effect of injury that directly impairs appearance, value, usefulness, soundness, etc.: Fire causes damage to property. Detriment is a falling off from an original condition as the result of damage, depreciation, devaluation, etc.: Overeating is a detriment to health. Harm may denote either physical hurt or mental, moral, or spiritual injury: bodily harm; harm to one's self-confidence. Mischief may be damage, harm, trouble, or misfortune caused by a person, especially if maliciously: an enemy who would do one mischief. 4. impair, hurt.

Examples from the web for damage

As anyone with cartilage damage from a sports injury knows, there's not a whole lot doctors can do to help.
Taking regular doses of antimalarial drugs can have long-term side effects, such as hearing loss and liver and kidney damage.
Besides the loss of life and economic damage in reef collisions, environmental damage can be catastrophic.
Such damage has caused loss of vision in millions of people around the world.
Knee replacement surgery repairs damage and relieves pain in patients with severe osteoarthritis or knee injury.
Nerve damage may cause you to lose feeling in your arms and legs.
Not to speak of the damage which is not visible in a standard view of the exterior of a car.
Animals that are not directly killed by an oil spill may still suffer indirectly due to habitat damage.
He was encouraged in this change of heart by the housing collapse, in which the market for lawn seed was collateral damage.
Be sure to keep milky sap away from eyes, as it can cause severe damage.

British Dictionary definitions for damage

damage

/ˈdæmɪdʒ/

noun

injury or harm impairing the function or condition of a person or thing

loss of something desirable

(informal) cost; expense (esp in the phrase what's the damage?)

verb

(transitive) to cause damage to

(intransitive) to suffer damage

Derived Forms

damageable, adjective
damageability, noun
damager, noun
damaging, adjective
damagingly, adverb

Word Origin

C14: from Old French, from Latin damnum injury, loss, fine

Word Origin and History for damage

late 13c., from Old French damage (12c., Modern French dommage) "loss caused by injury," from dam "damage," from Latin damnum "loss, hurt, damage" (see damn).

early 14c., from Old French damagier, from damage (see damage (n.)). Related: Damaged; damaging.

Idioms and Phrases with damage

damage

In addition to the idioms beginning with damage

damage control

also see: