Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

damage

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
noun American English pronunciation: damage /ˈdæmɪdʒ/
 
  1. 1
    [uncountable] physical harm caused to something so that it is broken, spoiled, or injured

    Mr. Charlton surveyed the damage caused by the bulldozer.

    damage to:

    Damage to the building could take six months to repair.

    do damage:

    No damage had been done, and we pushed the car back onto the road.

    suffer damage:

    The house suffered only superficial damage in the fire.

    serious/severe/extensive damage:

    A fire had caused serious damage to their apartment.

    permanent/irreparable/irreversible damage:

    Mining in the area was doing irreparable damage to the environment.

    brain/liver/nerve damage:

    a new drug to treat nerve damage

    storm/flood/fire/bomb damage (=damage caused by a storm, fire, etc.):

    Experts have been assessing the level of flood damage.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  damageThesaurus entry for this meaning of damage
  2. 2
    [uncountable] emotional or mental harm caused to someone

    Many traumatic events may be overcome without lasting damage.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  damageThesaurus entry for this meaning of damage
  3. 3
    [uncountable] negative effects on someone or something
    damage to:

    The damage to the bank’s image is extremely serious.

    untold damage (=damage that is impossible to measure):

    The revelations caused untold damage to his political reputation.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  damageThesaurus entry for this meaning of damage
  4. 4

    damages

     [plural] legal money that a court orders you to pay someone because you have harmed them or their property

    Mrs. Owen was ordered to pay damages of $6,000.

    The jury awarded damages of over $9 million to the victims.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  damageThesaurus entry for this meaning of damage

This is the American English definition of damage. View British English definition of damage.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

 

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

watchword

a word or phrase that expresses someone’s attitude or intention

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog