# damage

Pronunciation: say "DAM-ij" /ˈdæmɪd͡ʒ/

## Noun

1. Injury or harm to something, or the extent to which it is no longer intact.
   - Simple: Harm or injury to something, or how badly it has been harmed.
   - _The flood left extensive damage throughout the lower floors._
   - _Inspectors assessed the damage to the bridge before reopening it._
3. The cost or expense of something; the amount that must be paid. *(slang)*
   - Simple: The cost or price you have to pay for something.
   - _She winced when the mechanic finally told her the damage._
   - _Dinner for six? The damage came to two hundred dollars._
5. Money paid or awarded in a civil case to the party who brought it, as compensation for a loss that party suffered.
   - Simple: Money given to someone in a court case to make up for a loss they suffered.
   - _The jury awarded the family $2 million in damages for the hospital's negligence._
   - _The landlord is seeking damages from the former tenants to cover the cost of repairs._

## Verb

2. To harm something or reduce its soundness, quality, or value.
   - Simple: To harm something so it works less well or loses value.
   - _Careless handling can damage delicate equipment._
   - _The scandal severely damaged his reputation._
4. To become damaged; to suffer harm, usually with an adverb such as easily.
   - Simple: To become harmed or broken, often very easily.
   - _These plastic lenses damage more easily than glass ones, so keep them in a case._
   - _Ripe peaches damage easily, so growers pack them in single layers._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To pull a damaged or unsalable product from the sales floor so it can be processed.

## Origin

It comes from Middle English damage, from Old French damage, which goes back to Vulgar Latin *damnāticum, from Classical Latin damnum. It largely replaced the Middle English word scath (source of unscathed).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/damage (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).