damages
Britishplural noun
Explanation
Damages are the official amount of money awarded to the winner in a law suit. If you're hurt in a car accident that's another driver's fault, you may end up collecting damages. The legal term damages usually refers to money that's owed or received to compensate someone for a loss or an injury. If a business owner's negligence — not clearing ice from a sidewalk, for example — causes you to be injured, you can sue her for damages to pay for your broken arm and the days of work you had to miss. Sometimes a court awards "punitive damages" as well, which are specifically intended to punish the defendant.
Vocabulary lists containing damages
The Skin I'm In
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Hitler Youth
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City of the Plague God
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Researchers cannot conclude from this study that consuming these sweeteners directly damages the brain or causes memory loss.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
Anthropic added that “the scale of harm that could result from a catastrophic AI-related incident” might be so large that it would be unable to obtain insurance to cover the potential damages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Wonder — celebrating the 50th anniversary of his seminal “Songs in the Key of Life” this year — is seeking forfeiture of the lease agreement with Efferson, legal fees and statutory damages up to $600.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
However, an estimated 10% to 20% of implant patients eventually develop peri-implantitis, a serious infection that damages the surrounding jawbone.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Neither the state nor the state police can be sued for damages.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
