- damage
- ▪ I. damage dam‧age 1 [ˈdæmɪdʒ] noun1. [uncountable] a bad effect on something that makes it weaker or less successful:damage to
• The result of this policy will be severe damage to the British economy.
2. [uncountable] physical harm caused to something:• a fire which caused hundreds of pounds' worth of damage to property
3. flood/storm/wind etc damage INSURANCE damage caused by a flood, storm etc:• The shop suffered severe smoke damage.
apˌparent ˈdamage [uncountable] TRANSPORTdamage that is noticed when goods are being unloaded from a ship and is reported to the ship's owners4. damages [plural] LAW money that a court orders someone to pay to someone else for harming them or their property, or causing them financial loss:• The group is facing claims for damages after supplying faulty goods.
• They are being sued for damages by clients who had been advised to invest in an insurance company that went bankrupt.
• A federal jury awarded damages for breach of contract.
ˌactual ˈdamages [plural] LAWmoney that a court orders someone to pay to someone else for harming them or their property, to cover the cost of the harm, rather than to punish them:• The jury's verdict included $17 million in actual damages.
adˌditional ˈdamages [plural] LAWan additional amount of money that a court orders someone to pay as damages:• If the plaintiff is seeking additional damages for loss of earning capacity, the defendant must be given proper notice.
ˌcivil ˈdamages [plural] LAWdamages that the court orders someone to pay following a court case between companies or people, using civil law, rather than a case started by a government:• The manufacturer has not paid civil damages because negligence has not been proven in court.
ˌcompensatory ˈdamages [plural] LAWanother name for actual damagesˌconsequential ˈdamages [plural] LAWdamages paid by a person or organization, relating to the direct result of their mistake or negligence:• The company shall not be liable for any incidental or consequential damages resulting from the use of the software.
— compare incidental damagesexˌemplary ˈdamages [plural] LAWdamages that a court orders someone to pay as a punishment, rather than to pay for actual harm:• The singer is seeking exemplary damages against the newspaper for printing a story claiming that he is an alcoholic.
ˌincidental ˈdamages [plural] LAWdamages paid by a person or organization, relating to the indirect result of their mistake or negligence — compare consequential damagesˌliquidated ˈdamages[plural] LAW damages specified in a contract that are payable if a particular thing is not done:• The government is entitled to deduct liquidated damages of more than £6.9 million for late completion of works.
damages in the form of money, rather than another type of court judgementˌnominal ˈdamages [plural] LAWa small amount of damages that a court orders someone to pay to show that wrong has been done, but that it did not cause great harm or financial loss:• The family asked the judge to award at least nominal damages.
ˌnon-ecoˌnomic ˈdamages [plural] LAWdamages that are paid for physical harm that has been done rather than for financial loss:• Non-economic damages should be paid only to the victims with permanently disabling injuries.
ˌpunitive ˈdamages [plural] LAWanother name for exemplary damagesdamages that are calculated on the basis of the financial loss multiplied by three:• The jury awarded the tour company $235,000 and, under treble damages, the amount climbed to $705,000.
unˌspecified ˈdamages [plural] LAWwhen the person asking for damages does not state the amount they are asking for, but lets the court decide:• The couple filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages, claiming that the pension advisor deliberately misled them.
[m0] ▪ II. damage damage 2 verb [transitive]1. to cause physical harm to something:• Be careful not to damage the timer mechanism.
• goods damaged in transit
2. to have a bad effect on something in a way that makes it weaker or less successful:• Taylor felt her reputation had been damaged by the newspaper article.
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Ⅰ.damage UK US /ˈdæmɪdʒ/ noun [U]► harm that is done to someone or something that makes them less successful: damage to sth/sb »The firm was lucky to get away with little damage to its reputation.
do/cause damage (to sth/sb) »The pensions scandal did a lot of damage to the Government's credibility.
inflict damage on sth/sb »Public relations disasters could inflict damage on the brand.
»The solicitors say their clients will hold the bank liable for any loss and damage suffered as a result of the arrangements.
»severe/irreparable/serious damage
»economic/financial damage
► physical harm that is done to something: »They asked their insurers to assess the damage so that they could make a claim.
do/cause damage (to sth) »The government estimates the damage done by the fires at millions of pounds.
»Roofs are most likely to suffer damage during a hurricane.
»storm/wind/water damage
»severe/irreparable/serious damage
»environmental/structural damage
→ See also ACTUAL DAMAGES(Cf. ↑actual damages), ADDITIONAL DAMAGES(Cf. ↑additional damages), APPARENT DAMAGE(Cf. ↑apparent damage), CIVIL DAMAGES(Cf. ↑civil damages), COMPENSATORY DAMAGES(Cf. ↑compensatory damages), CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES(Cf. ↑consequential damages), CRIMINAL DAMAGE(Cf. ↑criminal damage), EXEMPLARY DAMAGES(Cf. ↑exemplary damages), INCIDENTAL DAMAGES(Cf. ↑incidental damages), LIQUIDATED DAMAGES(Cf. ↑liquidated damages), MONEY DAMAGES(Cf. ↑money damages), NOMINAL DAMAGES(Cf. ↑nominal damages), NON-ECONOMIC DAMAGES(Cf. ↑non-economic damages), PROPERTY DAMAGE(Cf. ↑property damage), PUNITIVE DAMAGES(Cf. ↑punitive damages), TREBLE DAMAGES(Cf. ↑treble damages), UNSPECIFIED DAMAGES(Cf. ↑unspecified damages)Ⅱ.damage UK US /ˈdæmɪdʒ/ verb [T]► to harm someone or something in a way that makes them less successful: »The Chancellor is being urged not to take steps that could damage Britain's competitiveness.
»They feared that public knowledge of the deal might damage them.
seriously/severely/irreparably damage sb/sth »He is suing his colleague on the grounds that her accusations severely damaged his reputation.
► to physically harm something: »People who are under-insured won't be able to rebuild if their homes are damaged by a hurricane.
seriously/severely/irreparably damage sth »The fire completely destroyed five buildings and severely damaged several more.
Financial and business terms. 2012.
