damns

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular present of damn.

   The inspector's report damns the old bridge as unsafe for heavy trucks.

   Her own email damns her more thoroughly than any witness could.

   Note

   Most of what this form does in print is condemning, not cursing: a report damns a bridge as unsafe, an email damns its own writer. In that use it is neutral enough for news and legal writing, commonly with as introducing the verdict. The cursing use (he damns the weather) can sound vulgar to some ears, and invoking damnation outright is archaic.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of damn.

   A string of muttered damns drifted up from under the car.

   Frankly, the board didn't give two damns about the workers' complaints.

   Note

   The plural counts either curses or almost nothing. Muttered damns are the swear words themselves; in not give two damns, the word means the smallest scrap of concern, and a pair of them still adds up to none. Both uses can sound vulgar to some listeners, so they belong to casual speech rather than polite company.

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