2
general::
verb ADV. badly, seriously, severely The building was badly damaged by fire. | slightly | irreparably, permanently She may have damaged her health irreparably., noun harm/injury ADJ. considerable, enormous, great, serious, severe, substantial, untold | minor, slight | extensive, widespread | irreparable, irreversible, lasting, long-term, permanent The incident did permanent damage to relations between the two countries. | criminal, malicious, wilful He was prosecuted for criminal damage to a vehicle. | accidental The insurance policy covers the building for accidental damage. | emotional, environmental, mechanical, psychological, structural | brain She suffered serious brain damage at birth. VERB + DAMAGE cause, do, inflict The earthquake caused widespread damage to property. They inflicted severe psychological damage on their opponents. | suffer | repair | prevent PREP. ~ by The palace suffered extensive damage by fire in 1825. | ~ from Crops are sprayed with chemicals to prevent damage from insects. | ~ to lasting damage to the environment PHRASES the cost/value of the damage The cost of the damage is estimated at around $2 billion. | the extent of the damage At the moment it is difficult to assess the extent of the damage. damages: money you can claim from sb ADJ. heavy, substantial VERB + DAMAGE incur, suffer damages incurred by the unfairly sacked workers | claim, seek, sue (sb) for He decided to sue the company for damages. | assess The court will assess the damages. | apportion, award (sb) | pay (sb) | obtain, receive, recover, win | be liable for, be liable in (law) If goods are lost in transit, the carrier will be liable for damages. DAMAGE + NOUN action, claim A woman is to bring a civil damages action against the men she alleges murdered her son. | award PREP. in ~ They are claiming £45 million in damages. | ~ for He received damages for personal injury. | ~ of She was awarded damages of £90,000. PHRASES an action/a claim for damages The judge upheld her claim for damages against her former employer.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
3
general::
damage
verbs
do 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.
serious/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.
transnet.ir
4
general::
damage
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
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
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-Thesaurus