damage control

noun

1. a department or group, as aboard a naval vessel, responsible for taking action to control damage caused by fire, collision, etc.
2. any efforts, as by a company, to curtail losses, counteract unfavorable publicity, etc.

Other Words From

• damage-con·trol adjective

Idioms and Phrases

Measures to minimize or curtail loss or harm. For example, As soon as they discovered the leak to the press, the senator's office worked night and day on damage control . Used literally since the 1950s, specifically for limiting the effect of an accident on a ship, this term began to be used figuratively in the 1970s.

Example Sentences

The NFL scrambled on damage control, initially suspending Rice for two games and then suspending him indefinitely.

From The Daily Beast

Day by day, the National Football League is transforming into less of a sport and more of a full-time damage control operation.

From The Daily Beast

Paul employed his wife, a deacon in their Bowling Green presbyterian church, for damage control.

From The Daily Beast

“Journalists should not run damage-control operations,” Bragman said.

From The Daily Beast

Sen. Jerry Moran, a Republican from Kansas, called the VA-directed audit “more damage control than solving the problem.”

From The Daily Beast

Damage control crews worked steadily for the next seventy-two hours, replacing wiring, welding, and testing.

From Project Gutenberg

Damage-control parties reported themselves on post, in suits, with equipment ready.

From Project Gutenberg