damage1 noundamage2 verb
damagedam‧age1 /ˈdæmɪdʒ/ ●●● S3 W2 noun 
WORD ORIGINdamage1
Origin:
1200-1300 Old French dam ‘damage’, from Latin damnum; ➔ DAMN4EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Acid rain has caused serious damage to the pine forests of northern Europe.
- It will take many years to repair the damage caused by the floods.
- Never look straight at the sun. Any damage to the retina could cause permanent blindness.
- New ways of reducing the damage to the environment are urgently needed.
- Rubella is a serious infection, which can cause severe physical damage to the unborn child.
- The vandals did over £20.000 worth of damage.
- There is growing evidence of lasting psychological damage to children in broken families.
- Advice on any legal problem which arises in connection with the journey or holiday or with damage to your home.
- Boeing Field in south Seattle also was closed, by damage to the runway, Sims said.
- Endothelin induced gastric mucosal damage was carried out as described below.
- Gary Locke estimated losses totaling billions of dollars, as damage reports of highways, homes and businesses continued to trickle in.
- If you have an existing bedframe, always ask for advice, as the wrong combination may cause damage to the mattress.
- In truth Gene probably believes that the forces of darkness are gathering, but he also believes in damage limitation.
- Mr Galston complains, and evidence of the damage is becoming clearer and clearer.
- The Multnomah County Courthouse was evacuated and employees were gathered in a park across the street while officials inspected for damage.
Longman Language Activatorto damage something
to break part of something or spoil its appearance: · The goods were damaged during transport.· Don't put any hot things on the table - you'll damage the surface.badly/severely damaged: · The building had been severely damaged by fire.
if one thing or person does or causes damage to another, it damages that person or thing - use this especially to say how much damage there is: · The explosion caused over £50,000 worth of damage.· In the end, the Internet virus did little permanent damage.do/cause damage to: · Too much sun can do serious damage to your skin.
to damage a machine or piece of equipment so that it does not work or cannot be used: · Leave that clock alone - you'll break it!· We used to have a remote control for the TV, but my brother broke it.
to damage a painted or polished surface by making long thin marks on it with something sharp or rough: · Be careful not to scratch the table with those scissors.· I scratched the side of the car as I was backing it into the driveway.
to damage something deliberately also vandalise British to deliberately damage buildings, vehicles, or public property: · All the public telephones in the area had been vandalized.· No-one is really sure why people vandalize their own neighbourhoods.
British to deliberately damage a room or building by breaking windows, furniture etc: smash something up: · They didn't only rob the house, they smashed it up too.smash up something: · About 400 rioters had seized control and were smashing up the jail.smash the place up: · Some of the men got drunk and smashed the place up.
especially American, informal to cause a lot of damage to a thing or place, either deliberately or by using it carelessly: · That kid of yours has trashed my VCR.trash the place spoken (=cause a lot of damage to a room or building): · Dad says it's OK to have the party here, as long as we don't trash the place.
to secretly damage machines or equipment so that they cannot be used, especially in order to harm an enemy: · The railway line had been sabotaged by enemy commandos.· Security lighting was sabotaged before the theft took place.
to deliberately and illegally damage or change a part of something in order to prevent it from working properly: · Someone had tampered with the lock on my door.· After the accident, police discovered that the car's brakes had been tampered with.
to deliberately spoil the appearance of something by writing on it, spraying paint on it etc: · Several of the gravestones had been defaced and were impossible to read.deface something with something: · The Central Bank issued a statement warning against defacing bank notes with what it called "indecent expressions".
to damage a church or other holy place: · The church had been desecrated by vandals.· Most of the Egyptian tombs were desecrated and robbed.
when weather/water/chemicals etc slowly damage something if the wind, rain, sea etc wears something away , it very gradually destroys its surface until there is nothing left: wear away something: · The action of the sea is constantly wearing away the cliff face.wear something away: · Environmentalists are concerned that rock climbers are wearing the crags away in some places.get worn away: · The cathedral steps were getting worn away by the feet of thousands of visitors.
if water, wind, air etc erodes rock, land, soil etc, it gradually damages it over a long time by removing little pieces of it: · Caves are formed by water eroding rock.· If the river is not controlled, it will erode its banks as well as the surrounding farmland.
if a chemical corrodes something metal, it damages it and makes it gradually disappear or become weaker: · Salt corrodes metal.· If the batteries leak, they can corrode the case of your flashlight.· The pipework was badly corroded in places.
if something made of iron rusts , it is gradually damaged by a chemical reaction with water and turns red-brown in colour: · The iron crosses that marked the graves had rusted badly over the years.· The underside of the car had virtually rusted away.
to damage something by using it to damage clothes, material, or equipment by wearing them or using them a lot: wear out something: · After only a month Terry had worn out the soles of his shoes.wear something out: · If you drive as fast as this all the time, you'll wear the brakes out.get worn out: · The carpet on the stairs is getting worn out.
damage caused by continuous use over a long period: · Excessive tyre wear may be caused by faulty brakes.heavy wear (=a lot of wear): · Dalton said that the machine showed signs of heavy wear and had not been well-maintained.
the normal amount of damage that is caused to furniture, cars, pieces of equipment etc, by using them: wear and tear on: · Having a large family obviously increases the wear and tear on your furniture.normal/everyday wear and tear (=the degree of wear and tear you expect): · Allowing for normal wear and tear, a washing machine should last at least ten years.
physical damage caused by something the physical damage that spoils the way something looks or the way it works: · It will take many years to repair the damage caused by the floods.· The vandals did over £20,000 worth of damage.damage to: · New ways of reducing the damage to the environment are urgently needed.severe/serious damage: · Acid rain has caused serious damage to the pine forests of northern Europe.
ways of saying or asking how much something costs if something costs £10, $100 etc, that is what you have to pay in order to buy it: · How much does a house like that cost in America?cost £10/$20/a lot etc: · Tickets for the show cost £15 or £20.cost somebody £10/$20 etc: · I stayed in a hotel in Paris which cost me $150 a night.cost a fortune informal (=cost a lot of money): · Look at Frank's new Mercedes - it must have cost a fortune.it costs £10/$20/a lot etc to do something: · The Department of Education estimates that it will cost $17 billion to build the new schools.
spoken say how much to ask what the price or cost of something is: · That's a beautiful rug -- how much did you pay for it?· By the way, how much does it cost to use the swimming pool?
if something is £100, $1000 etc, that is how much it costs - use this especially when you are asking or replying to a question about the cost of something: · "I like your new shirt - how much was it?" "It was only fifteen pounds."· I can't remember how much the flight cost. I think it was around $400.
if something is done, sold etc at a cost of a particular amount, that is how much it costs - used especially in news reports: · Surveys are being conducted in 10 European States at a cost of £50 million.
if something that you buy sets you back a particular amount of money, usually a large amount, that is how much it costs, especially when you think that it is very expensive: set somebody back £200/$400 etc: · A good quality saxophone will set you back at least £1000.set somebody back: · If she's hoping to buy a new sportscar, it's going to really set her back!
if a product is priced at a particular price that is how much the person who makes or sells it has decided it should cost: · The book, which is priced at £38, will be available in the shops from September.· I watched a demonstration of their new cordless phone, priced at $350.
to cost a particular amount of money - use this especially when you think this is more than it is worth: sell for £400/$600 etc: · Clothes with designer labels sell for ridiculous prices nowadays.· Houses in this area are selling for over $400,000.go for £100/$250 etc: · Watches like that are going for about £15 in the market.go to somebody for £100/$250 etc: · The painting finally went to a private collector for $60 million.
if something fetches a particular price, it is sold for that price or someone receives that amount of money by selling it, especially at a public sale: fetch £40/$500 etc: · It's a very old car, but I'm still hoping it'll fetch around £200.· Van Gogh's "Sunflowers' was expected to fetch more than $20 million.
British spoken use this to ask what the total cost of something is, especially a job someone has already done for you or something you have already received: · "The mechanic's just about finished working on your car, sir." "Thanks, and what's the damage?"·
damage to a part of the body · The glass roof collapsed onto the crowd, causing horrific injuries.· Our insurance provides cover in the case of illness or injury.leg/back etc injury · Unfortunately, she had to withdraw from the game because of a leg injury.serious injury · Wearing a helmet may protect you from serious injury.suffer an injury (=be injured) · He suffered serious injuries in the car crash, and died on the way to hospital.escape injury (=not be injured) · Ten passengers were lucky to escape injury when their train was derailed last night.injury to your leg/chest etc · Morrison had to undergo surgery on an injury to his left knee.
an injury caused by a weapon such as a knife, gun, or bomb: deep wound: · The wound was deep and needed eighteen stitches.bullet/stab/gunshot etc wound: · Barratt was taken to the hospital with stab wounds to his chest and neck.wound to the leg/chest etc: · He died of a single gunshot wound to the left side of his head.
a dark, painful mark on your skin where you have fallen or been hit: · Jenny looked as though she'd been crying, and there was a nasty bruise on her cheek.be covered in cuts and bruises: · Jack often comes home from rugby covered in cuts and bruises.
an injury in which you hurt a joint by twisting or pulling it suddenly and awkwardly: · It's a slight sprain - you should rest it for a few days.ankle/shoulder/knee etc sprain: · Robinson is suffering from an ankle sprain, and can't train this week.
written an injury that will take a long time to get better or that may never get better: · Never look straight at the sun. Any damage to the retina could cause permanent blindness.· Rubella is a serious infection, which can cause severe physical damage to the unborn child.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYverbs
Buy an insurance policy that covers accidental damage. Potts suffered severe brain damage in the crash. She was awarded a large sum in compensatory damages. Bolton’s idea was fatally flawed. The outbreak of hostilities will cause incalculable misery. I got out of the car to inspect the damage. It is wise to insure your property against storm damage. damaged ankle ligaments The jury awarded punitive damages (=money paid to someone who is the victim of a crime). He was entitled to recover damages from the defendants. Neil tried to repair the damage that his statements had caused. The railway may sue for damages (=in order to get money) because of loss of revenue. We cannot undo the damage of a lifetime in only 30 days. The rumours will do untold damage to his reputation.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
· Too much sun can do severe damage to your skin.
· We surveyed the damage caused by the bomb.
formal· She has suffered damage to her hearing.
· The cost of repairing the damage could be around £300 million.
· Young trees need protecting to prevent damage from the wind.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + damage· The earthquake caused severe damage to a number of buildings.
(=covering a large area)· Because of the size of the bomb, the damage was extensive.
(=that cannot be repaired)· By smoking for so long, she may have suffered irreversible damage to her health.
· Fortunately, the fire caused only minor damage.
· There is considerable evidence that the drug can cause physical damage.
(=to the structure of a building)· The building was checked for structural damage.
· The programme will concentrate on reducing environmental damage and pollution.
(=caused by fire, storm, flood etc)· The campsite suffered extensive flood damage.
· If you drink a lot of alcohol it can cause liver damage.
(=caused by an accident)· The insurance covers you for accidental damage to your possessions while you are on holiday.
(=caused by someone committing a crime)· The boy was charged with criminal damage after setting fire to his girlfriend’s house.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Buy an insurance policy that covers accidental damage.· Both cars were badly damaged in the accident.
Potts suffered severe brain damage in the crash.· A fire had broken out and caused severe damage to the roof.
She was awarded a large sum in compensatory damages. (=make someone have less confidence)· The situation in the US was undermining foreign confidence in the dollar.
· A number of factors undermine the credibility of these statistics.
British English (=damaging someone's property illegally)· He was charged with criminal damage to his boss's car.
· When disease destroyed the crop, famine followed.
· The storms caused crop damage across the country.
· A mistake like that can do a lot of damage to your career.
· The earthquake completely destroyed all the buildings on the island.
(=make it less successful)· Sanctions have damaged the economy.
(=causing harm or damage to something or someone)· the harmful effects of drinking too much alcohol· Some of the effects can be quite damaging.
· The government insists that the dam will not harm the environment.
· A lot of chemicals used in industry cause harm to the environment.
· the environmental damage caused by opencast mining
Bolton’s idea was fatally flawed.· The school was badly damaged by fire.
(=damage to plants, caused by frost)· Some crop regions may have suffered frost damage.
· Widening the road will uproot trees and damage wildlife habitat.
· There is no doubt that smoking can seriously damage your health.
· Has this scandal damaged the company’s image?
(=having a bad effect)· The expansion of the airport would have a negative impact on the environment.
The outbreak of hostilities will cause incalculable misery.· Financial scandals have damaged the industry in recent years.
I got out of the car to inspect the damage. It is wise to insure your property against storm damage. damaged ankle ligaments· We need to avoid damaging people's morale.
The jury awarded punitive damages (=money paid to someone who is the victim of a crime). He was entitled to recover damages from the defendants. Neil tried to repair the damage that his statements had caused. (=be so badly damaged that it cannot be repaired)· Unfortunately the engine is beyond repair.
· She wouldn’t do anything to damage her family’s reputation.
(=ask for money because of something bad you have suffered)· The other two may seek compensation for wrongful imprisonment.
· The explosion sparked a fire which caused serious damage to their flat.
· His reputation had been seriously damaged.
· The blast caused severe damage to the surrounding buildings.
· The hotel was severely damaged by fire last November.
· Strong sunlight can damage your skin.
· A lot of buildings suffered storm damage.
(=having a bad effect on an industry)· The company now faces the prospect of a crippling strike.
The railway may sue for damages (=in order to get money) because of loss of revenue.· The U.S. ship suffered no damage.
We cannot undo the damage of a lifetime in only 30 days. The rumours will do untold damage to his reputation.· Yet another option is to buy a policy which itself covers accidental damage without the need for buying a separate extension.· Most expensive of all is an all-risks policy which also gives wide cover against accidental damage.· Personal Liability ... Up to £500,000 To cover your legal liability for accidental injury to third parties or accidental damage to their property.· The pipes or cables must require repair or replacement due to accidental damage not due to wear and tear.· All pipes should be bracketed to avoid accidental damage.· The cost of tracing the damage is covered provided there has been accidental damage to the pipes or cables.· We found it was more useful in stopping the debarking of trees or accidental damage to shrubs.
· All these may do considerable damage to his reputation.· It could do considerable damage if it happened to hit some of the more fragile equipment.· Stories were told about how they had actually done considerable damage to some visiting fans when situations had got out of hand.· No warships were present, but considerable damage was inflicted on cargo vessels, with which the harbor was jammed.· Cannons can cause considerable damage on your deep ranks too, but this is less worrying.· The attacks caused considerable damage but no injuries.· All the attacks caused considerable damage, but no one was injured.
· The 31-year-old man, suspected of causing criminal damage, had been arrested at Sheerness, Kent.· One might well ask how important the element of criminal damage is to the rationale of the aggravated offence.· The official was convicted of criminal damage for ramming the craft with a motorboat, then whacking it with a shovel.· He's admitted shoplifting, theft and criminal damage but denies two alleged assaults on police.· I was in a bad way at that time, I felt really depressed, so I went round causing criminal damage.· Are the miscreants aware that they are guilty of trespass and criminal damage?
· We will tackle the problem of congestion and environmental damage by enabling local authorities to provide better quality transport.· Socallration losses but also tremendous environmental damage.· Wesley Smith Opponents say it's a policy doomed to fail - creating massive environmental damage.· When that happens, the result is environmental damage and human suffering.· Immediate improvements in the rail network, allowing more movement of goods and passengers by rail and less environmental damage.· But the precise size of the spill and the incumbent environmental damage remained unclear Saturday.· Some items are harmless in themselves, but cause enormous environmental damage to make. 3.· Local self-sufficiency is further hindered by widespread environmental damage.
· This caused a violent explosion resulting in extensive damage.· With more extensive damage he will just repeat the proverb-one example of what is called concrete thinking.· More frequent and more extensive damage is evident on all the subsequent categories.· You may not know how extensive the damage is until warmer weather.· There is an undocumented belief that these patients have a very high stricture recurrence rate because of extensive oesophageal damage and fibrosis.· Tisaby could not say exactly how many windows were broken in the building nor how extensive the damage was in dollar terms.· According to Moscow radio reports there followed a renewed rampage by rioters through the city resulting in extensive damage.· In fact Etruria was hit by incendiaries several times, but thankfully survived without extensive damage.
· I have acknowledged the great damage done to the hon. and learned Member for Leicester, West.· The greatest damage is in the Adirondacks, the next greatest in Vermont, and the next New Hampshire.· But the greatest potential damage to Rangers' hopes of victory would be the loss of McCoist with a calf injury.· With government number-crunchers idle so long, no one is sure just how great the damage will be.· Furthermore, other ecosystems have suffered greater damage than the Amazon.· He let me know of my flaws only after they had wrought a great deal of damage.· You have to cause a great deal of damage to a Troll to stop it regenerating.· In particular, extreme frosts below about - 20 to - 25 to - y reported to cause great damage to mature trees.
· Why should his death, however tragic, threaten irreparable damage to an institutional structure of such proven strength?· In truth, the society's decision will cause irreparable damage to the cause of music.· At that stage they were completely outweighed by the threat of irreparable damage to her health and risk to her life.· Would they ever be able to extricate themselves from it without irreparable damage being done?· The Stalinist phase did all but irreparable damage to the international reputation of Soviet historiography.· Parking the trailer Simply parking the trailer with the stands firmly down will not prevent really strong winds from doing irreparable damage.· We are only one generation away from causing irreparable damage to the Earth's biosphere.· Numerous environmental campaigners have alleged that Fisons's peat-cutting operations are causing irreparable damage to the fragile habitat of lowland peat-bogs.
· We are looking forward to expert advice in your column before we do ourselves irreversible brain damage.· This has done severe, irreversible damage to our identity.· Prolonged fixation often lead to irreversible damage as muscles atrophied.· A third priority is to stop irreversible damage to the natural environment.· Conservationists however, claim that many licenses must be immediately revoked to avoid irreversible damage.· Second, if the condition goes unrecognised, or is incorrectly treated, irreversible damage may occur.· As a consequence some have suffered irreversible damage to their health.
· Later another partially ignited device was found in a second furniture shop but caused only minor damage.· Here in Scituate, the storm caused minor damage, flooding streets and knocking down power lines.· Up to 200 others suffered minor damage.· In some states, no-fault insurance has made it easier for the citizen to collect for minor collison damage in automobile wrecks.· There was only minor structural damage to roofs and chimneys.· Historic Curry Village also escaped flooding, the only minor damage inflicted by a rock slide.· Torquay Deaf Club suffered some minor damage, but nothing which could not be easily repaired.· Such acts often involve minor damage to property or disruption of certain routine social events.
· But he said Cherie should not suffer permanent damage if cured soon.· No permanent damage was done to the substation, officials said.· He started to have fits and he suffered permanent damage.· But if the artery stays plugged up for something like 15 minutes or more, permanent damage occurs.· Too much strain on the relaxin-softened tissue can cause permanent damage.· Even if you suffer permanent damage but are still able to work, this is the only way around it.· The order to create wealth can never justify permanent damage to the balance of nature.
· The offline operator is responsible for mounting and dismounting the offline media and inspecting media items for physical damage.· Angelakos, 76 and retired since 1990, says the physical damage and emotional effects of his encounter have faded.· They are convicted of physical harm or damage infrequently and they are in general petty and trivial offenders.· In point of physical damage inflicted, it was true enough that the raid did not accomplish a great deal.· The tortious principle gives protection to the ultimate consumer of a product where the product has caused physical damage.· But a serious accident can cause far more than purely physical damage.· Generally speaking, there is no tort action where the product is merely defective and has not caused any physical damage.· But she had suffered no physical damage or identifiable psychological illness.
· But the greatest potential damage to Rangers' hopes of victory would be the loss of McCoist with a calf injury.· The market has a mechanism for ensuring even that the potential risk of damage to the environment can be costed.· The potential economic damage is not restricted to arable farming.
· In it we can see reflected the ecological, psychological, spiritual damage and the massive human waste of this war.· You should also be aware of the psychological damage you are capable of doing to yourself.· The scourge had abated, but psychological damage had been done, which was not so readily repaired.· Men can be passive without grave psychological damage only if the women are passive also.· On this occasion City accepted with relish the chances which came their way and inflicted serious psychological damage on their dejected opponents.
· The judgment reflected a refusal by the court to limit punitive damage awards.· In exchange, the companies would be protected from punitive damage awards on past misconduct but not future misconduct.
· She suffered serious brain damage and was retired from her job on medical grounds.· Unlike Washington state, there were no reports of injuries or serious damage.· Nothing around us spoke of serious damage.· Much more rarely, Candida can invade the eye, kidney, liver or brain, doing serious damage.· The Nimbus was undamaged but the K8 had one wing severed at about half-span as well as other serious damage.· Everyone gets very wet but it is worth while getting soaked if it saves even one glider from serious damage.· Mr Quinn, 55, suffered 33 rib fractures, serious damage to internal organs and severe head and neck injuries.· On this occasion City accepted with relish the chances which came their way and inflicted serious psychological damage on their dejected opponents.
· That is nothing short of irresponsibility, and inflicts severe damage on our democracy.· A similar overdose left a second patient, Maureen Bateman, with severe heart damage.· In 1970 he suffered severe brain damage in a road accident which effectively ended his career.· Any creatures that breathe the surface air directly are subject to severe lung damage, lung edema, and death.· It is likely that very severe environmental damage would be done if parts of this reserve were activated.· The possible side effects are severe kidney damage.· With less severe colonic damage, terra fullonica was able to prevent the occurrence of systemic endotoxaemia.· Paralyzed muscles lost tone and became flaccid; with severe damage they further degenerated through shrinkage and atrophy.
· Minor bombing incidents in Buenos Aires and Santiago caused little structural damage and nobody was reported to have been injured.· And the occasional burst pipe can cause major structural damage rather quickly.· No one was injured but the interchange was closed because of fears of major structural damage.· But most people found only busy signals, as structural damage and call volume overwhelmed local phone systems.· Offices of the Levi jeans company and the computer firm, Casio, were being checked yesterday for structural damage.· More structural damage could be hidden, one reporter said to explain Seattle's largely unscathed appearance.· It caused £1,500 million of structural damage to at least 35 buildings.· There was only minor structural damage to roofs and chimneys.
· Its regime - which Prince Philip believed would turn his sons into real men - had caused Charles untold misery and damage.· Inaccurate information from an uninformed physician can cause untold damage to the best educational program.· However, incorrect stretching can cause untold damage and even permanent injuries in extreme cases.· They were already well within the shield zone and, had the barge been hostile, it could have inflicted untold damage.· The slide seemed empty, yet its contents could do untold damage.· On the contrary, said the voice, it could do his case untold damage.· It could inflict untold damage if he were to break that trust and be indiscreet.
NOUN· The judgment reflected a refusal by the court to limit punitive damage awards.· That would afford him some shelter from some creditors but would not discharge these damage awards.· In Milwaukee, numerous civil rights lawsuits led to monetary damage awards to victims of police actions.· However, there were no reported cases of damage awards or sheriffs removed from office.· In exchange, the companies would be protected from punitive damage awards on past misconduct but not future misconduct.· Punitive damage awards often run into the millions of dollars, some-times hundreds of millions.· Or, he can plead with the judge to cut the damage award.· Fujisaki ordered the damage awards stayed for 10 days while post-trial motions are filed.
· She suffered serious brain damage and was retired from her job on medical grounds.· He came into this world pretty beaten up, with what they considered to be soft neurological brain damage.· We are looking forward to expert advice in your column before we do ourselves irreversible brain damage.· Over-consumption causes temporary brain damage, impaired vision and often results in prolonged vomiting.· All have returned to normal without permanent damage, although hyponatremia occurring during surgery has resulted in death or permanent brain damage.· In 1970 he suffered severe brain damage in a road accident which effectively ended his career.· In extreme cases they can suffer brain damage or die.
· This is not storm and should not be dealt with as a storm damage claim.
· Investors remained sceptical of Tory damage control and subsequent polls showing a closer race.· It is more like ordinary political damage control.· Clinton also proved to be a master of damage control on the so-called character issues.· Calipari has spotted problems and implemented damage control.· It felt good to have something important and challenging to keep one busy, even if it was damage control.· Korten, 48, knows a lot about damage control.
· There is a great deal of information available about fire damage to property, but little on diseases related to industrial work.· Most of the fire damage was confined to the restaurant and several Fox offices.· In Wagon Mound the kind of damage that needed to be foreseeable was fire damage.· Explosions that occur at high enough altitudes will lay down severe shock and fire damage without the fireball ever contacting the ground.· It sustained a lot of fire damage when the labs went up.· Recent incidents include £2 million fire damage to Bellahouston Academy in Glasgow.· In 1917 Mawson was commissioned to replan Salonika, following extensive fire damage.· This was as near as they dared to approach to avoid the risk of fire damage to the vehicles.
· The assistance comes from the Bellwin scheme which can be activated for emergency relief after exceptional storm or flood damage.· Dickson -- with no garage and no basement -- reported no flood damage.· I hope they will still claim that rain belongs to them when people put in insurance claims for flood damage.· Schafer said late Monday he hoped damage assessments for public and private flood damage from other counties would be collected by Friday.· She feared the bounds of her mind would burst and she would be swamped, her sanity irretrievable in the flood damage.· Homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage.
· Avoid an east-facing situation to prevent frost damage and cut back long growth immediately after flowering.· The market lost its earlier gains on perceptions the coldest temperatures came in areas where previous frost damage forced an early harvest.· This can then encourage rot to grow on timber, and may also result in frost damage to masonry in cold weather.· In mild winters apples buds began to break soon after Christmas, leaving them vulnerable to frost damage.· Service pipes can run the length of the house and may need insulating against frost damage where exposed.
· Flanker Len Dineen received a broken ankle, and no.8 Victor Donnelly knee ligament damage.· He suffered ligament damage in his hand two weeks ago in Palm Springs that required cortisone shots.· Meanwhile, defender Graham Hill, sidelined since the start of the season by knee ligament damage, has resumed full training.· He at least was heartened that there was no ligament damage found.· Thomas will also miss most of those matches after having his right ankle put in plaster to repair ligament damage.· After the game, she tearfully spoke of possible ligament damage.· Sterland has missed the whole season so far with ankle ligament damage.· But the watching scout only saw 27-goal Erskine carried off with suspected knee ligament damage.
· In truth Gene probably believes that the forces of darkness are gathering, but he also believes in damage limitation.· It was to be an ugly demonstration; damage limitation was not on the agenda.· Its policy is damage limitation, not prevention.· Alec Stewart's 102-ball 55 never smacked of more than damage limitation.· But damage limitation is not perhaps the best way to manage an election campaign when you are in opposition.· Franks was busily engaged in a damage limitation exercise in Washington.· He started on a kind of-well - what Mum and I used to call one of his damage limitation exercises.· Their interests will best be served by damage limitation, but Zhu may yet regret siding with them so quickly.
· The role of genes encoding other alcohol metabolising enzymes in a genetic predisposition to alcoholic liver damage has yet to be explored.· In high doses, vitamin A can cause brittle nails, hair loss, headaches and liver damage.· These data suggest that the risk of liver damage is greatest in patients with active viral replication before operation.· Trichloroethene, a probable human carcinogen, can cause liver damage and genetic mutations in both human and animal populations.· Their liver damage is usually mild, dose dependent, and reversible when the drug is stopped.· This also seems to be the mechanism of piroxicam induced liver damage.· Methionine or an alternative drug, N-acetylcysteine, prevents liver damage by boosting the levels of glutathione.· They claim that he removed healthy wombs and bungled routine operations, leaving them with bladder, kidney and liver damage.
· Pyro may also have a claim for his property damage.· About eighty were injured, and most of the property damage was limited to broken windows and overturned cars.· This principle is illustrated in relation to property damage by the following case.· Thus began a series of violent public demonstrations that brought about severe property damage, bloodshed, and death.· Some property damage was foreseeable and the fact that it was more extensive than might have been foreseen did not matter.· No deaths were recorded, and property damage was limited.· An obvious risk of property damage alone is insufficient for manslaughter, but may suffice for the driving offences.· This is clearly narrower than property damage.
· This is not storm and should not be dealt with as a storm damage claim.· It must have been a pretty hefty bit of storm damage.· Worldwide the insurance industry has lost US$56,000 million in the past two years from storm damage alone.· At the time we were rushing from job to job repairing storm damage, and fortunately were both wearing rubber soled boots.· Repair of storm damage, foreign debt repayments and aid to small businesses were to be funded from the 1988 tax surplus.· There is no cover for storm damage to gates, hedges or fences.· A spokesman for President Clinton said assessment teams were studying the storm damage.
· Left to their own devices, these free radicals cause tissue damage.· With tissue damage and necrosis, the cells disintegrate and leak their contents into the blood.· For the physician, it is a demand to identify the objective source of the tissue damage which provoked the subjective awareness.· Others use magnetic resonance imaging, like those used to find tissue damage in humans, to detect explosives.· Supposing the physician can find no tissue damage or that there is an inappropriate relation between objective fact and subjective complaint.· Injury or tissue damage stimulates nerve impulses in specialised sensory fibres. 2.· Is this not proof that the pain felt by normal subjects mirrors the nature, intensity and location of tissue damage?· The aim is to minimise tissue damage and further movement could do just the opposite!
VERB· Forgetting the holidays temporarily, she headed out in her car to assess the damage for herself.· State leaders will be assessing priorities today as damage inspection continues.· Local traders met today to assess the damage.· Mitchell trudged down the hall toward his corner office, detouring into the washroom to assess the damage to his hair.· A spokesman for President Clinton said federal teams were still assessing the damage.· The farmer stood back and scratched under his turban, assessing the damage to my vehicle.· This is, however, the first study that also assesses gastroduodenal damage.· Crandall, manager of the park, was waiting Monday for state officials to arrive to assess damage.
· To avoid further damage to sensitive ecosystems, sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions must be cut by 90 percent.· To avoid damage in a down market, buy and hold stocks of companies with long records of rising earnings and dividends.· Suggestions that he could avoid the damage by protecting the wheat fields with electric fencing do not impress Mr Berry.· But please hurry up if you want to avoid the nerve damage and deformity that result from long-term exposure to the germ.· They are useful for getting into awkward spaces, avoiding damage to the work around them.· Even a predator as powerful as a tiger wants to avoid risk of damage to itself.· All pipes should be bracketed to avoid accidental damage.· It is important to follow the manufacturer's instructions on the dilutions and immersion times to avoid damage.
· Minor bombing incidents in Buenos Aires and Santiago caused little structural damage and nobody was reported to have been injured.· The amount of radiation that would have been needed to be effective would have caused intolerable brain damage.· Roll for each target to see if you cause damage.· If the project would cause damage, then the developer would have to foot the bill himself.· Threadworms do not usually cause any long term damage.· While the lasers could do the job, they would cause too much damage to the healthy tissue, he said.· But evidence is mounting that Ecstasy can cause permanent brain damage.· Inaccurate information from an uninformed physician can cause untold damage to the best educational program.
· Yet another option is to buy a policy which itself covers accidental damage without the need for buying a separate extension.· Homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage.· Theft is excluded but this policy would cover damage caused by attempted theft. 3.· Pipes and drains which are blocked are not accidentally damaged and the cost of clearing the blockage is not covered.· Our marine insurance covers such damage or loss after the first £320.· Ascertain if there is any other insurance in force to cover the loss or damage.· If your Homecover policy covers the damage then the cost of the repairs will be paid when settling the claim.
· She remains more of a mystery, so a deepening scandal has the potential to do more political damage.· If he perceives your body language wrong, he can do major damage.· What's more, it's not just a build-up of toxic chemicals that can do the damage.· It does moral damage by encouraging prejudice within children regardless of their color.· Plus their hands are simply too tiny to ball into fists that will do any real damage.· It would have taken only three or four weeks for the hungry larvae to do this damage, he said.· Organization replaces individual authority; no individual is powerful enough to do much damage.· And if you try and get up now, you will do yourself damage.
· However, it is possible for other war engines and large monsters to inflict damage on them.· The law increased the penalties for those convicted of inflicting racially motivated damage on a religious building.· Those with a taste for battle choose their weapons and most of them look capable of inflicting real damage.· The articles are designed to inflict damage on Labour, but I doubt that they will.· He's in a position to inflict major damage, and he does.· Against an immobile target, such as a wall, even the early cannon could inflict quite considerable damage.· But Tory rebels still remain confident they can win the day and in doing so inflict irreparable damage on the treaty.· Most horses panic, and then they can inflict terrible damage upon themselves.
· This time Dennis claimed hits on a destroyer while Osborne inflicted damage on a supply ship.· Adam Gilchrist had inflicted much of the damage.· On this occasion City accepted with relish the chances which came their way and inflicted serious psychological damage on their dejected opponents.· They were already well within the shield zone and, had the barge been hostile, it could have inflicted untold damage.
· But neither the princess nor the police driver got out to inspect the damage.· Thursday, on the Morning After, we went to the New Garden to inspect the damage.· She picked up her suitcase and made her way along the aisle, pausing to inspect the damage to her legs.· Loi, when he came to inspect the damage, was confident.· The five then went into Meehan's flat to inspect the damage.· I head for the cove to inspect the damage.· I pulled on oilskins, clambered forward, and inspected the damage by the light of a hand torch.· The Multnomah County Courthouse was evacuated and employees were gathered in a park across the street while officials inspected for damage.
· Effective cell-mediated immunity is central to limiting viral damage.· Gingrich and the group were discussing how to limit the political damage Gingrich would face for admitting to having broken House rules.· All of them at least as concerned to limit the damage as to assist the inquiry.· Rex raised the alarm, and the entire crew rushed forward in the rain and darkness to try to limit the damage.· Efforts must be made to limit damage when things go wrong in the classroom.· Although bank officials are seeking to limit the damage, the news will add to pressure for further cuts in borrowing costs.· The object of their game was to limit the damage.· After his return in 1471 Edward tried to limit the damage to the Stanleys by modifying Gloucester's grant.
· The lighting of the galleries has also been transformed and computer controlled blinds fitted to prevent damage from excessive levels of daylight.· Eggs are packed in cartons with the large end uppermost to prevent mechanical damage to the egg.· In order to prevent damage to a lawn, they can be trained to use a flowerbed.· The usual preparation with Lugol may not prevent thyroid damage by I-MIBG.· Within the home environment too, training is important to prevent damage to furniture and soiling of carpets, for example.· Avoid an east-facing situation to prevent frost damage and cut back long growth immediately after flowering.· It goes without saying that you should practise safe upgrading by observing all precautions to prevent damage by static electricity.· Early diagnosis and treatment prevents brain damage and liver cirrhosis.
· The plan is intended to protect the environment and reduce damage from natural disasters.· Heating oil is highly toxic in the short term, but it evaporates quickly, reducing the long-term damage.· They have bevelled edges to reduce on-site damage and make it easier to work with.· The new design should be a better fit, and so reduce the damage to the bone after an implant.· Food is shared to reduce risks of damage in fighting and to prevent interference with eating.· Poisoning rats with warfarin reduces the damage but is costly and possibly damaging to the environment.· Careful handling is necessary to reduce mechanical damage.
· And it is costing the company another £16 million to repair the damage to the 1,000 kiosks plundered.· Now he was scheduled to undergo a second surgery the next day to repair nerve and disc damage in his spine.· This continues, but at least now efforts are also being made to prevent further pollution and even repair some of the damage.· When the trade deadline passed last week, Krause did nothing, again, to repair the damage he chose.· But he is determined to repair the damage when he and wife Cherie meet Mr Bush tonight.· He wanted to repair the damage done to him and his family.· But part of her did want to repair some of the damage they had done to each other.· He can not repair the damage he will not acknowledge.
· Under these circumstances, the chain may cause bruising, and can even result in damage to the nerves unless adjusted.· This caused a violent explosion resulting in extensive damage.· Healing with a launch failure A failure very close to the ground frequently results in damage.· There is some evidence that low salinities induced by freshwater may result in physiological damage to corals.· This pinpointed the main problem ara - non-asbestos work resulting in damage to asbestos-containing insulation material.· They maintained that David's death had resulted from damage done by forceps before his birth.· According to Moscow radio reports there followed a renewed rampage by rioters through the city resulting in extensive damage.· This can then encourage rot to grow on timber, and may also result in frost damage to masonry in cold weather.
· She suffered serious brain damage and was retired from her job on medical grounds.· He suffered ligament damage in his hand two weeks ago in Palm Springs that required cortisone shots.· Rouen Cathedral suffered serious war-time damage in 1944, but is now largely restored.· Even if you suffer permanent damage but are still able to work, this is the only way around it.· Either Alice or Bert could bring such a claim if they suffered damage.· Two other fire trucks suffered heat damage, while three other vehicles experienced minor harm.· Furthermore, other ecosystems have suffered greater damage than the Amazon.· Each released two bombs that would be slowed by fins so the bomber could make its escape without suffering any damage.
· The basement of the house had sustained heavy damage and part of the ceiling on the top floor had collapsed.· The medieval tower of the town hall of Foligno, near Assisi, also sustained further damage.· If chargers move through Fanatics they have not already encountered then they sustain more damage as they hit the deranged Goblins.· Squash and green beans sustained the worst damage, with 50 percent 70 percent, respectively, of these crops lost.· His home sustained some damage, but mostly remained intact.· Though still standing, the basilica itself has sustained terrible damage.· As for the Tirpitz, her crew received a considerable scare but the ship itself sustained no damage.· Both ships sustained major damage, but no one was injured or killed.
· You have a chance maybe to undo some of the damage that man has caused our family.· Maybe there was still time to undo the damage?· She had to see Ratchette and try and undo some of the damage that had been done there.· We certainly can not undo the damage of a lifetime in only thirty days, Sam.· But it is not too late to undo that damage.· Cotton, with an assist from this public-spirited pillar, has done his best to undo the damage caused by the hogwash.· There wasn't any way Evelyn could undo the damage.· It would be a cruel hoax because City would not be able to undo the damage these young people had suffered.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► what’s the damage?PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
- The court awarded the families $33 million in damages.
- Ed apologized a week later, but the damage was already done.
- Crew scurries to cover the lanes and approaches, but the damage is done.
- For the most part, the damage is done by soluble aluminium released from soil by acid water.
- It is when guilt lingers into adulthood that the damage is done.
- The concert is still reverberating in our ears and the damage is done.
- The symptoms are often obvious, identifiable, and even treatable before the damage is done.
- Well, the damage is done now.
- It could also be that collateral damage from a program crash has changed the setting.
- Our helplessness, outrage and fear were not collateral damage.
- This collateral damage to otherwise healthy bits of tooth may in the end have to be dealt with itself.
- If there was actual combustion of the damaged goods, however caused, there has been damage by fire.
- On 5 September a credit note No. 19 was received from A. Creditor in respect of damaged goods valued £5.00 returned by the hotel.
- She didn't, but something about the way she moved confirmed my suspicion that she saw herself as damaged goods.
- We all pass through this life as damaged goods, and the repair work is ongoing.
- He then smashed up his cell and began his detention with a three month sentence for assault and wilful damage.
- Unbelievably, they were later fined for, respectively, wilful damage and assault, and obstructing the police.
WORD FAMILYnoundamagedamagesadjectivedamagingverbdamage
1physical harm [uncountable] physical harm that is done to something or to a part of someone’s body, so that it is broken or injureddamage to damage to property These chemicals have been found to cause serious environmental damage. There may be permanent brain damage. His eyesight suffered irreparable damage.2emotional harm [uncountable] harm caused to someone’s emotions or mind: The death of a parent can cause long-lasting psychological damage.3bad effect [uncountable] a bad effect on somethingdamage to The damage to his reputation was considerable. The closure of the factory will cause severe damage to the local economy.damage limitation/control the attempts at political damage control during the scandal4 damages [plural] law money that a court orders someone to pay to someone else as a punishment for harming them or their property: The court awarded him £15,000 in damages.5the damage is done used to say that something bad has happened which makes it impossible to go back to the way things were before it happened: She immediately apologized, but the damage was done.6what’s the damage? spoken used humorously to ask how much you have to pay for somethingCOLLOCATIONSverbsdo damage· Too much sun can do severe damage to your skin.cause damage· We surveyed the damage caused by the bomb.suffer/sustain damage formal· She has suffered damage to her hearing.repair the damage· The cost of repairing the damage could be around £300 million.prevent/avoid damage· Young trees need protecting to prevent damage from the wind.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + damageserious/severe· The earthquake caused severe damage to a number of buildings.extensive/widespread (=covering a large area)· Because of the size of the bomb, the damage was extensive.permanent/irreparable/irreversible damage (=that cannot be repaired)· By smoking for so long, she may have suffered irreversible damage to her health.minor damage· Fortunately, the fire caused only minor damage.physical damage· There is considerable evidence that the drug can cause physical damage.structural damage (=to the structure of a building)· The building was checked for structural damage.environmental damage· The programme will concentrate on reducing environmental damage and pollution.fire/storm/flood etc damage (=caused by fire, storm, flood etc)· The campsite suffered extensive flood damage.brain/liver/nerve etc damage· If you drink a lot of alcohol it can cause liver damage.accidental damage (=caused by an accident)· The insurance covers you for accidental damage to your possessions while you are on holiday.criminal damage (=caused by someone committing a crime)· The boy was charged with criminal damage after setting fire to his girlfriend’s house.damage1 noundamage2 verb
damagedamage2 ●●● S3 W3 verb [transitive] VERB TABLE
damage
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | damage |
| he, she, it | damages | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | damaged |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have damaged |
| he, she, it | has damaged | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had damaged |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will damage |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have damaged |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am damaging |
| he, she, it | is damaging | |
| you, we, they | are damaging | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was damaging |
| you, we, they | were damaging | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been damaging |
| he, she, it | has been damaging | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been damaging |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be damaging |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been damaging |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Don't put any hot things on the table - you'll damage the surface.
- He slipped on some ice and damaged ligaments in his knee.
- Lewis damaged his knee in training and will not appear in the game.
- Several recent events have damaged the government's public image.
- Smoking can seriously damage your health.
- The building had been severely damaged by fire.
- The company's future prospects will be badly damaged if this deal falls through.
- The crisis has badly damaged the president's authority.
- The goods were damaged during transport.
- The storm damaged hundreds of houses.
- This is likely to damage Scott's reputation even more.
- When carrying out the operation, doctors have to take great care not to damage the delicate nerves endings.
- Both sexes will be damaged by the continuous disciplining that the rebellious and unsuccessful boys require.
- Huge tidal waves swamped the town, damaging almost half the buildings.
- It damages the nerves in the hands, feet or eyes.
- Read in studio Fire has badly damaged an office block in Gloucester.
THESAURUS
to cause physical harm to something or someone, or have a bad effect on them: · Several buildings were damaged by the earthquake.· The other car wasn’t damaged.· The scandal could damage his career.
to have a bad effect on something: · They use chemicals that will harm the environment.· The oil crisis could harm the economy.
to have a bad effect on something and make it less successful, enjoyable, useful etc: · We didn’t let the rain spoil our holiday.· Local people say the new buildings will spoil the view.
to deliberately damage buildings, vehicles, or public property: · All the public telephones in the area had been vandalized.
to secretly damage machines or equipment so that they cannot be used, especially in order to harm an enemy: · There is evidence that the airplane was sabotaged.
to deliberately and illegally damage or change a part of something in order to prevent it from working properly: · The car’s brakes had been tampered with.
to damage a church or other holy place: · The church had been desecrated by vandals.
to deliberately spoil the appearance of something by writing on it, spraying paint on it etc: · Someone had defaced the statue and painted it bright orange.
Longman Language Activatorto damage something to break part of something or spoil its appearance: · The goods were damaged during transport.· Don't put any hot things on the table - you'll damage the surface.badly/severely damaged: · The building had been severely damaged by fire.
if one thing or person does or causes damage to another, it damages that person or thing - use this especially to say how much damage there is: · The explosion caused over £50,000 worth of damage.· In the end, the Internet virus did little permanent damage.do/cause damage to: · Too much sun can do serious damage to your skin.
to damage a machine or piece of equipment so that it does not work or cannot be used: · Leave that clock alone - you'll break it!· We used to have a remote control for the TV, but my brother broke it.
to damage a painted or polished surface by making long thin marks on it with something sharp or rough: · Be careful not to scratch the table with those scissors.· I scratched the side of the car as I was backing it into the driveway.
to damage something deliberately also vandalise British to deliberately damage buildings, vehicles, or public property: · All the public telephones in the area had been vandalized.· No-one is really sure why people vandalize their own neighbourhoods.
British to deliberately damage a room or building by breaking windows, furniture etc: smash something up: · They didn't only rob the house, they smashed it up too.smash up something: · About 400 rioters had seized control and were smashing up the jail.smash the place up: · Some of the men got drunk and smashed the place up.
especially American, informal to cause a lot of damage to a thing or place, either deliberately or by using it carelessly: · That kid of yours has trashed my VCR.trash the place spoken (=cause a lot of damage to a room or building): · Dad says it's OK to have the party here, as long as we don't trash the place.
to secretly damage machines or equipment so that they cannot be used, especially in order to harm an enemy: · The railway line had been sabotaged by enemy commandos.· Security lighting was sabotaged before the theft took place.
to deliberately and illegally damage or change a part of something in order to prevent it from working properly: · Someone had tampered with the lock on my door.· After the accident, police discovered that the car's brakes had been tampered with.
to deliberately spoil the appearance of something by writing on it, spraying paint on it etc: · Several of the gravestones had been defaced and were impossible to read.deface something with something: · The Central Bank issued a statement warning against defacing bank notes with what it called "indecent expressions".
to damage a church or other holy place: · The church had been desecrated by vandals.· Most of the Egyptian tombs were desecrated and robbed.
when weather/water/chemicals etc slowly damage something if the wind, rain, sea etc wears something away , it very gradually destroys its surface until there is nothing left: wear away something: · The action of the sea is constantly wearing away the cliff face.wear something away: · Environmentalists are concerned that rock climbers are wearing the crags away in some places.get worn away: · The cathedral steps were getting worn away by the feet of thousands of visitors.
if water, wind, air etc erodes rock, land, soil etc, it gradually damages it over a long time by removing little pieces of it: · Caves are formed by water eroding rock.· If the river is not controlled, it will erode its banks as well as the surrounding farmland.
if a chemical corrodes something metal, it damages it and makes it gradually disappear or become weaker: · Salt corrodes metal.· If the batteries leak, they can corrode the case of your flashlight.· The pipework was badly corroded in places.
if something made of iron rusts , it is gradually damaged by a chemical reaction with water and turns red-brown in colour: · The iron crosses that marked the graves had rusted badly over the years.· The underside of the car had virtually rusted away.
to damage something by using it to damage clothes, material, or equipment by wearing them or using them a lot: wear out something: · After only a month Terry had worn out the soles of his shoes.wear something out: · If you drive as fast as this all the time, you'll wear the brakes out.get worn out: · The carpet on the stairs is getting worn out.
damage caused by continuous use over a long period: · Excessive tyre wear may be caused by faulty brakes.heavy wear (=a lot of wear): · Dalton said that the machine showed signs of heavy wear and had not been well-maintained.
the normal amount of damage that is caused to furniture, cars, pieces of equipment etc, by using them: wear and tear on: · Having a large family obviously increases the wear and tear on your furniture.normal/everyday wear and tear (=the degree of wear and tear you expect): · Allowing for normal wear and tear, a washing machine should last at least ten years.
physical damage caused by something the physical damage that spoils the way something looks or the way it works: · It will take many years to repair the damage caused by the floods.· The vandals did over £20,000 worth of damage.damage to: · New ways of reducing the damage to the environment are urgently needed.severe/serious damage: · Acid rain has caused serious damage to the pine forests of northern Europe.
to make someone feel less confident if something shakes or damages someone's confidence , it makes them feel unsure of their abilities and less confident: · Being fired really shook his confidence.badly shaken: · Her confidence was badly shaken when she was involved in a car accident a few years ago.
making people feel that they cannot be successful at something they are trying to do, so that they become unwilling to continue with it: · the demoralizing effects of unemployment· Many of the teachers found the school board's criticism unfair and demoralizing.· Rivas says being on welfare was a demoralizing and humiliating experience.
informal to make someone lose their confidence, especially by saying or doing something unexpected: · Last night's defeat has taken some of the wind out of the team's sails.
to make someone feel less confident about something they are trying to achieve: · What discouraged me most was our lack of progress in the pay negotiations.· Although the troubles in the financial markets have made him cautious, Reid said they haven't discouraged him.
making someone feel less confident about something they are trying to achieve: · My father made a few discouraging remarks about my academic abilities that have stayed with me to this day.· Despite discouraging viewing figures for their movie "For the Boys", Paramount decided to try to make another similar film.be discouraging to do something: · It's very discouraging to find out that your own team members have been lying to you.discouraging that: · It is deeply discouraging that the government can struggle with the nation's budget for nearly a year and still fail to achieve anything.
to harm a person, group, country etc to have a bad effect on something, in a way that makes it weaker, less effective, or less successful: · Walking out without giving any notice will only harm your career.· Any scandal will certainly harm the company's reputation.· These new export restrictions are sure to harm the economy.· The most important consideration is that the environment is not harmed.
to permanently harm something such as the success, health, or image of a person, organization etc so that they are not as effective as before: · Several recent events have damaged the government's public image.· This is likely to damage Scott's reputation even more.seriously/badly damage something: · Smoking can seriously damage your health.· The company's future prospects will be badly damaged if this deal falls through.
to change or effect something in a harmful way: · Drinking so much is bound to have a bad effect on your health.· An increase in interest rates at the present time would definitely be bad for business.
to have a sudden bad effect on someone or something, harming them badly: · A sudden rise in inflation always hits living standards.be badly hit: · Southern England has been badly hit by flooding, and many homes are now without power.hit something/somebody hard: · Elderly people were the hardest hit by the increase in tax on fuel.
to have a bad effect on an organization or activity, by making it less successful or effective: · Most companies have been hurt by the economic slowdown.· This is mainly going to hurt those who already have least.
to harm the plans, chances, confidence etc of a person or organization: · It would be stupid to pretend this was anything but a blow to the prime minister.be a big/serious/severe etc blow: · The incident was a severe blow to UN peace efforts.· Losing the match against Rumania, dealt a huge blow to the team.
to harm something such as an ability or the way a body or system works - use this especially in medical or technical contexts: · If a witness is allowed to withhold evidence, it impairs the legal process.· Alcohol significantly impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery.
formal to be likely to harm something: · Working in front of a computer all day may be detrimental to your eyesight.· Any further housing development will be detrimental to the character of this small town.
if you do something at the expense of someone or something else, you do it in order to gain an advantage, even if it harms them or has a bad effect on them: · Cigarette manufacturers continue to pursue profit at the expense of our children.· Many people are now working a fifty or sixty hour week, at the expense of their family life.
to seriously harm something by causing a lot of harm and confusion: · A major computer failure wrought havoc on the New York Subway last night.wreak havoc/play havoc with: · Working so late is starting to play havoc with her social life.
to hurt a part of your body if you hurt a part of your body, you accidentally damage it so that it feels painful or you cannot move it easily: · Nick's hurt his back, and the doctor says he will have to rest for a few weeks.· I can't go running this week - I've hurt my foot.hurt yourself: · That's a sharp knife. Be careful you don't hurt yourself.
to hurt a part of your body, especially seriously and in a way that takes a long time to get better: · Tom injured his shoulder playing tennis.injure yourself: · Many elderly people injure themselves in their own homes, for example by slipping in the bath.
to hurt a part of your body when you fall or hit it against something, causing a dark, painful mark to form on your skin: · Mom fell on the ice and bruised the side of her leg.badly bruise: · Keller badly bruised a hip, and came off early in the second half of the match.· My skin bruises quite easily.
to hurt your knee, wrist, or another joint by twisting or pulling it suddenly and awkwardly: · I sprained my knee while I was playing basketball.· You'll need strong walking boots in the mountains, if you don't want to sprain an ankle.
to break a bone in your body: · It was such bad luck - it was our first time skiing and Nicola broke her leg.
to hurt your knee or another joint, by turning it too suddenly or strongly while you are moving: · I couldn't play, having twisted my knee in the previous night's game.· The doctor said that I'd wrenched my shoulder and shouldn't drive for a while.
: pull a muscle to injure a muscle by stretching it too much, especially during hard physical activity: · I pulled a muscle trying to move the piano into the apartment.· Crawford had been ordered to take a day's rest after pulling a leg muscle.
written to injure a part of your body fairly seriously, especially in a way that means it will take a long time to get better or will never get better: · Lewis damaged his knee in training and will not appear in the game.· When carrying out the operation, doctors have to take great care not to damage the delicate nerve endings.
to injure a joint by falling on it or stretching it so that the two parts of the joint are moved out of their normal position and stay out of position: · Sam dislocated his shoulder in a riding accident.
if part of your body is bleeding , blood is coming out of it because you have been injured: · His head was bleeding, and he'd obviously been in a fight.be bleeding from: · John saw that he was bleeding from some sort of wound on his chest.be bleeding heavily/profusely (=a lot of blood is coming out): · The cut on her leg had opened again and was bleeding heavily.
to damage the reputation of someone or something · If a representative gets drunk at a convention, it may harm their firm's reputation.· Sabine was completely loyal to you. She would never do anything to damage your reputation.
to give a group or place a bad reputation by behaving in an unacceptable way: · Students who are rude and scruffy give the school a bad name.· The regular brawling and violence in the bar had given it a bad name.· He was the type of person that gives insurance salesmen a bad name.
formal to damage the reputation of the organization that you work for or the job that you do by doing something bad or illegal - use this especially in legal or official contexts: · This is exactly the kind of incident that brings international companies into disrepute.· The officers were charged with bringing the police force into disrepute.
to make people stop trusting or believing in someone or something: · There was a plot by certain members of the opposition to discredit the government.· The old leaders were discredited by the massive defeats at Verdun and Flanders.· Through your selfishness, you have brought discredit on yourself and your whole family.
a cruel and unfair attack on someone's character: · All too often politicians discredit themselves by engaging in character assassination.
something that harms someone's character, reputation etc in someone's opinion: a slur/stain on somebody's character/reputation etc: · Baker accused the press of casting a slur on his reputation.· He was discharged from the army without a stain on his character.
an attempt to damage the reputation of a political opponent by secretly spreading false ideas about them, for example by telling a newspaper that they have done bad or dishonest things: · Kingsley denies all the rumours, saying he's the victim of a vicious smear campaign.smear campaign/whispering campaign against: · Allegations of instability, untrustworthiness and lack of political judgement - all these were part of the whispering campaign against her.
to spoil the good opinion that people have of someone to spoil the idea that people have about someone, especially a famous person who is often on television, in newspapers and magazines etc: · The star's cleancut image has been spoiled by accusations of gambling and drug-taking.
to make people no longer have a good opinion about someone, especially a politician or someone with an important job: · My main concern was to prevent this incident from damaging my reputation.
containing information about someone's dishonest or immoral behaviour, which damages the good opinion that people have of them: · We can't risk any damaging scandals just before a Presidential election.· His career had been ruined by the sensational and damaging stories that appeared in the popular press.damaging to: · The recent court cases have been very damaging to the public image of the medical profession.
to damage the good opinion that people have of a person or organization, especially when this is done deliberately and in order to get an advantage: · It was a blatant attempt to discredit the Prime Minister.· There were reports that his campaign team had been trying to dig up information that might discredit his rival.
when an organization such as a political party or newspaper deliberately tries to find out and tell people about bad things someone in a public position has done, for example so that people are less likely to vote for them: · The magistrates who investigated his business empire have been made victims of a smear campaign.smear campaign against: · He called on people to ignore what he called a smear campaign against the government.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Smoking can severely damage your health.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Buy an insurance policy that covers accidental damage. Potts suffered severe brain damage in the crash. She was awarded a large sum in compensatory damages. Bolton’s idea was fatally flawed. The outbreak of hostilities will cause incalculable misery. I got out of the car to inspect the damage. It is wise to insure your property against storm damage. damaged ankle ligaments The jury awarded punitive damages (=money paid to someone who is the victim of a crime). He was entitled to recover damages from the defendants. Neil tried to repair the damage that his statements had caused. The railway may sue for damages (=in order to get money) because of loss of revenue. We cannot undo the damage of a lifetime in only 30 days. The rumours will do untold damage to his reputation.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
Smoking can severely damage your health. Buy an insurance policy that covers accidental damage.· Both cars were badly damaged in the accident.
Potts suffered severe brain damage in the crash.· A fire had broken out and caused severe damage to the roof.
She was awarded a large sum in compensatory damages. (=make someone have less confidence)· The situation in the US was undermining foreign confidence in the dollar.
· A number of factors undermine the credibility of these statistics.
British English (=damaging someone's property illegally)· He was charged with criminal damage to his boss's car.
· When disease destroyed the crop, famine followed.
· The storms caused crop damage across the country.
· A mistake like that can do a lot of damage to your career.
· The earthquake completely destroyed all the buildings on the island.
(=make it less successful)· Sanctions have damaged the economy.
(=causing harm or damage to something or someone)· the harmful effects of drinking too much alcohol· Some of the effects can be quite damaging.
· The government insists that the dam will not harm the environment.
· A lot of chemicals used in industry cause harm to the environment.
· the environmental damage caused by opencast mining
Bolton’s idea was fatally flawed.· The school was badly damaged by fire.
(=damage to plants, caused by frost)· Some crop regions may have suffered frost damage.
· Widening the road will uproot trees and damage wildlife habitat.
· There is no doubt that smoking can seriously damage your health.
· Has this scandal damaged the company’s image?
(=having a bad effect)· The expansion of the airport would have a negative impact on the environment.
The outbreak of hostilities will cause incalculable misery.· Financial scandals have damaged the industry in recent years.
I got out of the car to inspect the damage. It is wise to insure your property against storm damage. damaged ankle ligaments· We need to avoid damaging people's morale.
The jury awarded punitive damages (=money paid to someone who is the victim of a crime). He was entitled to recover damages from the defendants. Neil tried to repair the damage that his statements had caused. (=be so badly damaged that it cannot be repaired)· Unfortunately the engine is beyond repair.
· She wouldn’t do anything to damage her family’s reputation.
(=ask for money because of something bad you have suffered)· The other two may seek compensation for wrongful imprisonment.
· The explosion sparked a fire which caused serious damage to their flat.
· His reputation had been seriously damaged.
· The blast caused severe damage to the surrounding buildings.
· The hotel was severely damaged by fire last November.
· Strong sunlight can damage your skin.
· A lot of buildings suffered storm damage.
(=having a bad effect on an industry)· The company now faces the prospect of a crippling strike.
The railway may sue for damages (=in order to get money) because of loss of revenue.· The U.S. ship suffered no damage.
We cannot undo the damage of a lifetime in only 30 days. The rumours will do untold damage to his reputation.· This same dithering had also damaged Cleo irrevocably.· But they can also damage you the most in times of conflict.· Economic problems also damaged the administration's standing with conservative Republicans.· Cadmium is a carcinogen that can also damage the kidneys.· The buyers were awarded damages assessed at 5s. per quarter and also damages which the buyers had to pay to their sub-buyer.· Alleged inconsistencies in the transport ministry, according to analysts, also damage confidence.· A police car was also damaged during the incident, Warrington Crown Court was told.· Overheating the attic can also damage the roofing shingles.
· Like other urban institutions, the zoo was badly damaged in the factional fighting of the early 1990s.· Obviously if the group is small, its chances of success may be badly damaged by one individual not joining.· Her own iron prow and cutwater were carried away, and she was otherwise badly damaged about the stern by the collision.· The Millar Memorial, however, suffered a setback recently when a fire badly damaged their band hall.· The car was badly damaged and one man was lying in a ditch.· A bedroom was badly damaged in the blaze, but arson is not suspected.· Read in studio Fire has badly damaged an office block in Gloucester.
· The vehicles involved a Vauxhall Cavalier and a Ford Orion were extensively damaged.· Dozens of homes, a church, primary school and shops were also extensively damaged.· Mr Rowbotham's Ford Escort car was extensively damaged.· The 17-year-old suffered only minor injuries despite the Vauxhall Cavalier car being extensively damaged.· Firemen wearing breathing apparatus fought the blaze which extensively damaged the house.· The 20m by 10m barn was extensively damaged.· Two firemen wearing breathing apparatus managed to confine the fire to the living room, which was extensively damaged.
· Further damage to preparations caused by local heating includes blistering of thin section bonding resins and even cracking of the glass slide.· Not only would that further damage his image for posterity.· Efforts by the government and the judiciary to combat the cartels had been further damaged by two recent incidents.· The plane was further damaged the next day when it tried to take off on three engines instead of the usual four.· But there were fears that Manchester's chances of staging the games in the year 2000 have been further damaged.· This is needless and removes stones and rocks from their natural location and further damages the environment.· The widespread destruction and looting carried out by the soldiers further damaged the image of the new government.· And Mr Bush's economic advisers fear that any extra regulation could further damage an already weak economy.
· It is this last point which is perhaps the most damaging.· His right arm and leg were the most damaged.· It is the big money from the millionaires that is most damaging.· It appears to be most damaging to rapidly growing organs in the body, Etzel said.· Most damaging of all, some scientists fell into this very trap.
· These lenses are much smaller than ours, so less potentially damaging light reaches the sensory cells.· The effects of comet and asteroid impacts are potentially damaging to life in general, and to human civilization in particular.· Punitive damages potentially could be much more costly to cigarette companies than compensatory damages.
· However, the decline in the Tokyo stock market, which has rendered many warrants worthless, may seriously damage the market.· Neither Bradley nor his school have been seriously damaged by his small act of information sharing.· Girls like their men to look tough-but with every sign of being quite seriously damaged.· The quake seriously damaged computers at the U.S.· If that was now imposed on it, it would very seriously damage its business.· In two days we had had forty-five ships seriously damaged in our slick battalions.· Buildings were destroyed and many others, the Uffizi gallery among them, were seriously damaged.· But she did it so skillfully that again neither she nor her plane was seriously damaged.
· The Amerada Hess Corporation oil refinery, with a capacity of 545,000 barrels per day, was also severely damaged.· A severely damaged Royal Navy destroyer burns through the day with exploding ordnance and great sudden flares of burning bunker oil.· Next door the Northern Bank was severely damaged with window frames jutting out of the cracked masonry.· We have a flood control system that is severely damaged.· The front room was severely damaged and no one was injured in the incident.· Twin quakes on Sept. 26 killed 10 people and severely damaged the basilica in Assisi.· Its credibility has been severely damaged and its attempts to find a solution to the problem have resulted in abject failure.· One day a car was brought in that had been severely damaged in an accident.
NOUN· By examining you, we can find to what extent your brain was damaged - if it was your brain.· My brain damaged Can you come to me?· Only 10% of children born with spina bifida are brain damaged.· In Mashpee, two parents were indicted on charges of abuse that left their baby boy blind and brain damaged.· However, that part of his brain may have been damaged and unable to give an accurate reading.· Sometimes paralysis occurs, but it all depends on what brain region was damaged.· In contrast, it is remarkable how little change in function there usually is when the brain is damaged.· Affected babies are small, deformed and brain damaged.
· Huge tidal waves swamped the town, damaging almost half the buildings.· It can never achieve anything but slowing people's journeys and damaging a few buildings.· A rise in soil salinity in coastal areas is also expected to damage buildings, as are increased storms and gales.
· The move was intended to prove that co-operation could damage business.· The courthouse bomb shattered 22 windows Thursday and blew out a chunk of wall while damaging four businesses on the surrounding block.· If that was now imposed on it, it would very seriously damage its business.· Cultural isolation may be damaging to the business sector of one nation.· Companies A company may sue for defamation, but only in respect of statements which damage its business reputation.· Any level of drinking that adversely affects some one's work performance is likely to damage your business.· Do they damage the business of government by inhibiting confidentiality and honest private discussion?
· Garage blaze: Most of a garage was damaged after a car caught fire at a house in Durham Road, Stockton.· Police stepped up patrols along the freeway after the shooting Monday morning, which damaged a car but caused no injuries.· One was against a civil guard barracks in San Sebastian, which damaged several parked cars.· They were chased away in their damaged car, having been told not to come back or they would be killed.· The 17-year-old suffered only minor injuries despite the Vauxhall Cavalier car being extensively damaged.· You're suggesting that I damaged your car deliberately.· A crash during practice shook him up and badly damaged his car.
· Being innovative can damage your career.· Because they were afraid of damaging their careers.· The affair had to be kept secret, or the scandal within the hospital would irrevocably damage his career.· Becoming a martyr in most business environments is a good way to damage your career progress permanently.· It did not want to undermine trust or uncover extraneous information that might damage agents' careers.· Mr. Hunt I withdraw the commendation that I gave the hon. Gentleman, but only because that is damaging his political career.
· Whereabouts in the model would damage cause a patient to have to rely on the non-lexical procedure for reading?· Too often over-involved people burn out without realizing it and end up damaging their cause and themselves.· They are the fat, and it would have damaged his cause even to admit their existence.· The consequent adverse publicity was widely held to be damaging to the Labour cause.
· These in turn can destabilize living organisms, damaging their cell structure.· Two hot areas: products for dieters and antioxidants, which are thought to neutralize so-called free radicals that can damage cells.· Such levels can damage developing tooth cells and produce dental fluorosis.· The damaged parenchymal cells lose their ability to either conjugate bilirubin or to transport the bilirubin that is conjugated into the bile.· Nitrogen mustards in suitable doses damage only cells and tissues which normally exhibit relatively high rates of proliferation and growth.· This is caused by the leakage of conjugated bilirubin from damaged parenchymal cells into the sinusoids.· She mutilated herself, damaged her cell, showed violence towards staff and set fire to her bedding.· Advocates say that large doses of antioxidants protect against cancer by soaking up dangerous oxygen molecules that can damage cells.
· The general economic uncertainties, and particularly high unemployment damaged the confidence of prospective house buyers.· Alleged inconsistencies in the transport ministry, according to analysts, also damage confidence.
· At the same time, two financial scandals have damaged the government's credibility.· But that would damage the credibility of the government further and certainly affect the financial markets, analysts said.
· In the long run, persistent current account deficits are difficult and costly to sustain and are damaging to an economy.· It builds in and reinforces their dominance, but it damages the weaker economies.· The general election was called only after months of on-again, off-again dithering which damaged our economy and weakened our democracy.· And Mr Bush's economic advisers fear that any extra regulation could further damage an already weak economy.· Both ministries are acutely aware that Britain is suffering from skills shortages that could damage the economy and hold back business.
· Control has often centred on powerful organochlorine pesticides, which kill the locusts but can then damage the environment.· Finally, Galvin points out that when we damage our environment, we damage our future.· Organic farms can be as productive as industrial farming and do not damage the environment.· I suspect we may have permanently damaged the soils environment.· We are, each of us, personally responsible for damaging our environment.· This does not stop motorists damaging the environment but only stops them destroying it quite so violently.· Clearly, this type of consumption will severely damage the environment.· All of this stresses the need to ensure that future development must enhance rather than damage the environment.
· If business premises suffer serious fire damage the landlord usually covenants to reinstate the premises with all convenient speed.· The fire department estimates that damage at 50 Congress St. is about $ 500, 000, Caron said.· He did not do so and the fire spread and damaged the plaintiff's property.· Inside, some oil was set on fire and equipment damaged, prompting an argument about nonviolence.· The Millar Memorial, however, suffered a setback recently when a fire badly damaged their band hall.· Read in studio Fire has damaged a disused hotel at Abingdon in Oxfordshire.· Read in studio Fire has badly damaged an office block in Gloucester.· Some fires last summer damaged signalling cables.
· The chapel was again damaged by flood in 1956 and restored in 1957.· What there is instead is a deep sense of sympathy with those who have been damaged by the flood.
· We all pass through this life as damaged goods, and the repair work is ongoing.
· Still to come ... can the new craze for step aerobics actually damage your health?· Inside the body, the virus is powerful and can be extremely damaging to human health.· Avoid poisons Every day there is another scare about some product damaging our health.· The blocking of natural functions can damage our health.· It is a state of unease of the mind, and in the horse damages both its health and behaviour.· Living can damage your health, he wrote.· Similarly, workfare might expose people to the stigma and frequent humiliations that are damaging to health.
· Tumbling trees and limbs also damaged homes throughout the region.· It demolished a pub and damaged fourteen homes where families were sleeping.· In Silverado Canyon, clogged streams can mean damaged homes and flooded roads.
· Firemen wearing breathing apparatus fought the blaze which extensively damaged the house.· The water damaged the plaintiff's house and caused it to be left empty.· Bomb wrecks Ulster hotel A bomb has wrecked a hotel in Ulster and damage neighbouring houses.· It destroyed or damaged around 410,000 houses, leaving an estimated 1,200,000 people homeless.
· It was widely agreed that the episode had damaged the public image of Congress and had discredited the confirmation process.· Not only would that further damage his image for posterity.· Mr Scott added that all the media attention since May had undoubtedly damaged the good image of the club.· The manoeuvring has greatly damaged his image as a leader capable of making hard decisions.· The widespread destruction and looting carried out by the soldiers further damaged the image of the new government.· But his tenure of the prime minister's press office lowered its reputation and damaged Mrs Thatcher's image.
· He damaged ankle ligaments in the defeat at Chesterfield last Saturday and will be out for about three weeks.· Ince needed long treatment and it was later discovered he had damaged ankle ligaments.· The former Great Britain amateur skipper has damaged knee ligaments.
· The civil suit, which had sought $ 10 million in damages, ended in an undisclosed settlement on Tuesday, however.· The accidents, which involved streetcars and cable cars, caused $ 3. 6 million in damages and injured 10 people.· The Blumenfelds are seeking $ 4. 8 million in damages plus interest going back to 1992.· C., jury awarding Food Lion $ 5. 5 million in damages for fraud and trespassing.
· The punitive damages that we awarded is a deterrent for other murders, not just Mr Simpson.· The trio seeks $ 25 million in damages, plus unspecified punitive damages.
· Nearly all think that their working habits damage relationships with their spouse, their children and harm their health.· It is difficult to make progress in your career if you leave a trail of damaged relationships behind you.· The proliferation of staff has also damaged collegial relationships in Congress.· Despite the points listed above, many capable employees fail to see how they are damaging relationships all around them.· Moreover, such a challenge is likely to damage the trading relationship between the client and the customer concerned.· Longer-term solutions would include restoring the damaged relationships within the unit so that there is a return to normal working conditions.· Restoring a damaged relationship with a superior Your most important working relationship is with your immediate superior.
· On November 30, 1951, B 30A A73-39 was damaged beyond repair when it overshot the runway at Changi.· The pilot suffered only minor injuries but the aircraft was damaged beyond economical repair.
· But stinting excessively would probably damage his reputation more than overspending.· The Democrats had argued that the embarrassment of a shuttered government was damaging the reputation of the House.· One must avoid publicity or anything that could damage the reputation of the hotel.· You think you can damage my reputation by repeating the fantasies of some neurotic schoolteacher?· He said the cancellation of the all-night concert damaged his reputation and would cost him future business.· Companies A company may sue for defamation, but only in respect of statements which damage its business reputation.· It can only be activated when a false statement actually damages a reputation.
· Well her being human, she thought it might damage our digestive system.· Now they know a two-pronged approach is needed: blocking the virus and rebuilding the damaged immune system.· The stronger argument is a functional one, that brains do not respond to damage like typical interactive systems.· Frehley appears to shoot rockets from his guitar that damage the sound system.· My social worker says that I shouldn't be gettin' high, because it damages the immune system.· Hormonally active synthetic chemicals can damage the reproductive system, alter the nervous system and brain, and impair the immune system.· There is evidence that they damage the immune system and cause cancer in animals; the effects on humans are disputed.
VERB· They claimed the bumps could damage their vehicles.· It supports the Internal Revenue Service, which has claimed in court that damage awards for non-physical injuries should be taxable.
· Should it be lost or damaged, it can be regenerated quickly.· A number of circumstances in which a transparency could be lost or damaged would be quite beyond the control of the borrower.· On a flotilla holiday you may accidentally lose equipment or damage the yacht.· If your parcel is lost or damaged, compensation may be paid up the specified limit according to the fee paid.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
- It could also be that collateral damage from a program crash has changed the setting.
- Our helplessness, outrage and fear were not collateral damage.
- This collateral damage to otherwise healthy bits of tooth may in the end have to be dealt with itself.
- If there was actual combustion of the damaged goods, however caused, there has been damage by fire.
- On 5 September a credit note No. 19 was received from A. Creditor in respect of damaged goods valued £5.00 returned by the hotel.
- She didn't, but something about the way she moved confirmed my suspicion that she saw herself as damaged goods.
- We all pass through this life as damaged goods, and the repair work is ongoing.
- He then smashed up his cell and began his detention with a three month sentence for assault and wilful damage.
- Unbelievably, they were later fined for, respectively, wilful damage and assault, and obstructing the police.
WORD FAMILYnoundamagedamagesadjectivedamagingverbdamage
1to cause physical harm to something or to part of someone’s body: insects that damage cropsbadly/severely/seriously damage Smoking can severely damage your health.► see thesaurus at harm2to have a bad effect on something or someone in a way that makes them weaker or less successful: The changes in share values have damaged investor confidence.THESAURUSdamage to cause physical harm to something or someone, or have a bad effect on them: · Several buildings were damaged by the earthquake.· The other car wasn’t damaged.· The scandal could damage his career.harm to have a bad effect on something: · They use chemicals that will harm the environment.· The oil crisis could harm the economy.spoil to have a bad effect on something and make it less successful, enjoyable, useful etc: · We didn’t let the rain spoil our holiday.· Local people say the new buildings will spoil the view.vandalize to deliberately damage buildings, vehicles, or public property: · All the public telephones in the area had been vandalized.sabotage /ˈsæbətɑːʒ/ to secretly damage machines or equipment so that they cannot be used, especially in order to harm an enemy: · There is evidence that the airplane was sabotaged.tamper with something to deliberately and illegally damage or change a part of something in order to prevent it from working properly: · The car’s brakes had been tampered with.desecrate to damage a church or other holy place: · The church had been desecrated by vandals.deface /dɪˈfeɪs/ to deliberately spoil the appearance of something by writing on it, spraying paint on it etc: · Someone had defaced the statue and painted it bright orange.