Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - damage

~1 n 1 »PHYSICAL HARM« physical harm caused to something or someone  (damage to property) serious/severe/extensive damage (=very bad damage)  (The earthquake caused extensive structural damage. | minor/superficial damage (=damage that is not very serious) | do/cause damage)  (Don't you realize the damage these chemicals are doing to our environment? | brain/liver/lung etc damage (=damage caused to someone's brain etc))  (permanent brain damage from the accident) irreparable/irreversible damage (=damage that cannot be repaired) | water/storm/flood etc damage (=damage caused by water, a storm etc) 2 »EMOTIONAL HARM« harm caused to someone's emotions or mind  (Such a traumatic childhood experience can cause terrible emotional damage.) 3 »BAD EFFECT« a bad effect on something  (The damage to his reputation was considerable.) 4 »MONEY« damages law money that a court orders someone to pay to someone else for harming them or their property  (The court awarded him (15,000 in damages.) 5 the 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 regretted her outburst, but the damage was done.) 6 what's the damage? spoken used humorously to ask how much you have to pay 7 damage limitation an attempt to limit the damage to something  (a damage limitation exercise to save the Prime Minister) ~2 v 1 to cause physical harm to something or to part of someone's body  (Take care not to damage the timer mechanism. | I've damaged a knee ligament.) 2 to have a bad effect on something or someone in a way that makes them weaker or less successful  (Taylor felt her reputation had been damaged by the newspaper article.) - damaging adj