Damage Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

1 : loss or harm caused by injury to a person's body or property How much damage was done to the car? 2 damages plural : money demanded or paid according to law ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut damage noun SaveWord dam·​age |\ˈda-mij \ Definitionofdamage (Entry1of2) 1 :lossorharmresultingfrominjurytoperson,property,orreputation flooddamagesustainedseveredamagetoherknee 2 damagesplural :compensationinmoneyimposedbylawforlossorinjury Thejudgeawardedthem$5,000indamages. 3 :expense,cost "What'sthedamage?"heaskedthewaiter damage verb damaged;damaging Definitionofdamage (Entry2of2) transitiveverb :tocausedamage(seedamageentry1sense1)to don'tdamagethefurniturereturningsoldiersdamagedbywar OtherWordsfromdamage Synonyms&Antonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutdamage OtherWordsfromdamage Verb damageability \ ˌda-​mi-​jə-​ˈbi-​lə-​tē \ noun damager noun Synonyms&Antonymsfordamage Synonyms:Noun affliction, detriment, harm, hurt, injury Synonyms:Verb blemish, bloody, break, compromise, crab, cripple, cross(up), deface, disfigure, endamage, flaw, harm, hurt, impair, injure, mar, spoil, vitiate Antonyms:Verb doctor, fix, mend, patch, rebuild, recondition, reconstruct, renovate, repair, revamp VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymfordamage Verb injure,harm,hurt,damage,impair,marmeantoaffectinjuriously.injureimpliestheinflictingofanythingdetrimentaltoone'slooks,comfort,health,orsuccess. badlyinjuredinanaccident harmoftenstressestheinflictingofpain,suffering,orloss. carefulnottoharmtheanimals hurtimpliesinflictingawoundtothebodyortothefeelings. hurtbytheircallousremarks damagesuggestsinjurythatlowersvalueorimpairsusefulness. atabledamagedinshipping impairsuggestsamakinglesscompleteorefficientbydeteriorationordiminution. yearsofsmokinghadimpairedhishealth marappliestoinjurythatspoilsperfection(asofasurface)orcausesdisfigurement. thetextismarredbymanytypos ExamplesofdamageinaSentence Noun Theitemswerecarefullywrappedtoprotectthemfromdamageduringshipping. Thecitysustainedheavydamageduringthewar. Fortunatelytheboatsufferednoseriousdamageinthestorm. Thefallcausedconsiderabledamagetoherknee. Thediseaseisknowntocausepermanentbraindamage. Thescandalcausedsignificantdamagetohercareer. You'vesaidenough.Pleaseleavebeforeyoudoanymoredamage. Hetriedtorepairthedamagebyapologizing,butitwastoolate. Heapologized,butthedamagewasalreadydone. Verb Pleasereturnanyitemsthataredamagedduringshipping. Manyhomesweredamagedorcompletelydestroyedinthefire. Thefallseverelydamagedherknee. Smokingcanseriouslydamageyourlungs. Thescandalsignificantlydamagedhercareer. Thisnewswillundoubtedlydamagethegovernor'sreputation. Hewasworriedthathiscommentshadseriouslydamagedtheirrelationship. He'stryingtorepairhisdamagedreputation. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun Andtherecordsofarsuggeststhateachsuccessivevariantdoeslessdamagetotheeconomy. — DonLeeStaffWriter,LosAngelesTimes,7Jan.2022 Crossisapowerfulblockerwhocandodamageatthesecondlevelintherungamewithpremiumathleticismandhistarget-lockawareness. — EddieBrown,SanDiegoUnion-Tribune,5Jan.2022 LousvilleoutscoredGeorgiaTech36-22inthepaint,andMalikWilliamsdidmajordamagearoundtherim. — BrettDawson,TheCourier-Journal,3Jan.2022 Inthefirsttwoplusquarters,Murraydiddamagewithhisarm. — KentSomers,TheArizonaRepublic,2Jan.2022 Afterward,SmarttoldreportersthattheembarrassinglossafteranundefeatedseasondidlittledamagetotheBulldogs’psyche. — NewYorkTimes,1Jan.2022 Jamesscored27inthefirsthalfwhiletheonlyBlazersplayerwhoseeminglyshoweduptododamagewasBenMcLemore,whoscored20inthefirsthalfandfinishedwith28. — oregonlive,31Dec.2021 Thefakespikeproteinscan’tdoanydamagesincethey’renotconnectedtoactualcoronaviruses. — al,15Dec.2021 ThetornadoesthatsweptthroughpartsofwesternKentuckyFridayandSaturday,left74deadsofaranddiduntolddamageanddestruction. — EmilyDeletter,TheEnquirer,15Dec.2021 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb Moreexposedlakebedalsomeansmorepeoplehaveventuredontothecrust,includingoff-roadvehiclesthatdamageit,GreatSaltLakecoordinatorLauraVernonsaid. — LindsayWhitehurst,TheChristianScienceMonitor,6July2021 Cuttingcorners,anotheroption,coulddamagetherestaurant’sreputation. — RuthSimon,WSJ,20Dec.2021 Buthikingtheratetoofastcoulddamagethelabormarket,whichisstillbelowits2019levels. — IrinaIvanova,CBSNews,15Dec.2021 Yes,tourismcandamagepricelessworldheritagesites,crowdcities,roads,andparksandcreatepollution. — MichaelGoldstein,Forbes,10Dec.2021 Butifinvestigatorsdeterminethatthetriggerwaspulled,contrarytoBaldwin’sstatement,thatcoulddamagehiscredibility. — RyanFaughnder,LosAngelesTimes,3Dec.2021 SuchclaimswouldfurtherdamagefaithinUSdemocracy--alreadyguttedamongTrumpsupporters. — StephenCollinson,CNN,2Nov.2021 Showingupempty-handedwoulddamagetheUnitedStates’credibilityontheworldstage. — NewYorkTimes,28Oct.2021 Theyweredesignedtodamagemepolitically,buthaveonlyexposedthelackofcredibilityofthosewhodishonestlyorchestratedthiscoordinatedattack. — TheSaltLakeTribune,28Nov.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'damage.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofdamage Noun 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1Verb 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedabove HistoryandEtymologyfordamage NounandVerb MiddleEnglish,fromAnglo-French,fromdandamage,fromLatindamnum—seedamnentry1 LearnMoreAboutdamage Sharedamage PosttheDefinitionofdamagetoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofdamageonTwitter TimeTravelerfordamage Thefirstknownuseofdamagewas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNeardamage damadenoche damage damageable SeeMoreNearbyEntries  PhrasesRelatedtodamage compensatorydamages propertydamage recoverdamages Statisticsfordamage LastUpdated 11Jan2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Damage.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/damage.Accessed16Jan.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsfordamage damage noun EnglishLanguageLearnersDefinitionofdamage (Entry1of2) :physicalharmthatisdonetosomethingortosomeone'sbody :emotionalharmthatisdonetosomeone :problemsthatarecausedbyamistake,wrongaction,etc.:badorharmfuleffectsonasituation,aperson'sreputation,etc. damage verb EnglishLanguageLearnersDefinitionofdamage (Entry2of2) :tophysicallyharm(something) :tocauseproblemsinorfor(something):tohaveabadeffecton(asituation,aperson'sreputation,etc.) SeethefulldefinitionfordamageintheEnglishLanguageLearnersDictionary damage noun dam·​age |\ˈda-mij \ KidsDefinitionofdamage (Entry1of2) 1 :lossorharmcausedbyinjurytoaperson'sbodyorproperty Howmuchdamagewasdonetothecar? 2 damagesplural :moneydemandedorpaidaccordingtolawforinjuryordamage Thejuryawarded$50,000indamages. damage verb damaged;damaging KidsDefinitionofdamage (Entry2of2) :tocauseharmorlossto damage noun dam·​age Legal Definitionofdamage (Entry1of2) 1 :lossorharmresultingfrominjurytoperson,property,orreputation 2 plural :themoneyawardedtoapartyinacivilsuitasreparationforthelossorinjuryforwhichanotherisliable—seealsoadditur,cover,mitigate,remittitur—comparedeclaratoryjudgmentatjudgmentsense1a,injunction,specificperformanceatperformance Note: Thetrieroffactdeterminestheamountofdamagestobeawardedtotheprevailingparty.Morethanonetypeofdamagesmaybeawardedforasingleinjury. — actualdamages :damagesdeemedtocompensatetheinjuredpartyforlossessustainedasadirectresultoftheinjurysuffered —calledalso compensatorydamages — consequentialdamages :specialdamagesinthisentry — directdamages :damagesforalossthatisanimmediate,natural,andforeseeableresultofthewrongfulact—comparespecialdamagesinthisentry — exemplarydamages \ ig-​ˈzem-​plə-​rē-​ \ :punitivedamagesinthisentry — expectationdamages :damagesrecoverableforbreachofcontractanddesignedtoputtheinjuredpartyinthepositionheorshewouldhavebeeninhadthecontractbeencompleted —calledalso expectancydamages — generaldamages 1 :damagesforalossthatisthenatural,foreseeable,andlogicalresultofawrongfulact—comparespecialdamagesinthisentry 2 :damagesforlosses(aspainandsuffering,inconvenience,orlossoflifestyle)whosemonetaryvaluesaredifficulttoassign — hedonicdamages \ hi-​ˈdä-​nik-​ \ :damagesdeemedtocompensateforthelossofenjoymentofliferesultingfromawrongfulact Note: Hedonicdamagesarenotrecognizedinalljurisdictions. — incidentaldamages :damagesrecoverableundersection2-715oftheUniformCommercialCodeinbreachofcontractcasesforlossesthatincludeexpensesincurredinhandlingandcaringforgoodswhichwerethesubjectofthecontract,reasonableexpensesincurredinobtainingcover,andanyotherreasonableexpensesresultingfromthebreachthatdonotfallintoanyothercategory — liquidateddamages :damageswhoseamountisagreeduponbythepartiestoacontractasadequatelycompensatingforlossintheeventofabreach —calledalso stipulateddamages Note: Liquidateddamagesinanamountexceedingthatneededtoreasonablycompensatetheinjuredpartyconstituteapenaltyandarethereforevoid. — moratorydamages inthecivillawofLouisiana :damagesrecoverableforlossresultingfromanobligor'sdelayinperforming Note: Compensatorydamagesarerecoverableinacaseoffailuretoperform. — nominaldamages :damagesawardedinasmallamount(asonedollar)incasesinwhichapartyhasbeeninjuredbutnolossresultedfromtheinjuryorinwhichtheinjuredpartyfailedtoprovethatlossresultedfromtheinjury — presumeddamages :damagesthatarepresumedunderthelawtoresultnaturallyandnecessarilyfromatortiousactandthatthereforedonotrequireproof — punitivedamages :damagesawardedincasesofseriousormaliciouswrongdoingtopunishordeterthewrongdoerordeterothersfrombehavingsimilarly —calledalso exemplarydamages,smartmoney — specialdamages :damagesawardedinanamountdeemedtocompensateforlossesthatarisenotasanaturalresultoftheinjurybutbecauseofsomeparticularcircumstanceoftheinjuredparty specifically :damagesrelatingtoabusiness,profession,orpropertythatareeasilycalculableinmonetaryterms —calledalso consequentialdamages —comparedirectdamagesinthisentry—generaldamagesinthisentry Note: Becausespecialdamagesdonotariseineverycase,theymustbespecificallyrequestedinthepleadings.Thisisanissueofparticularimportanceincasesofharmtoreputation,suchasslander,libel,andmaliciousprosecution. — stipulateddamages inthecivillawofLouisiana :liquidateddamagesinthisentry — trebledamages \ ˈtre-​bəl-​ \ :damagesawardedinanamountthatisthreetimestheamountforwhichthetrieroffactfindsthewrongdoerliable Note: Trebledamagesarerecoverablewhereauthorizedbystatuteandareusuallyimposedasapunishment. 3 plural :lossesforwhichdamagesarerecoverable didnotincurdamages,becausehewasunlikelytowintheforeclosurecase—RosalindResnick damage adjective Legal Definitionofdamage (Entry2of2) :oforrelatingtodamages adamageactionadamageremedy HistoryandEtymologyfordamage Noun OldFrench,fromdaminjury,harm,fromLatindamnumfinancialloss,fine MorefromMerriam-Websterondamage Nglish:TranslationofdamageforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofdamageforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY sanguine SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! 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