INDEX:
1. to damage something
2. to damage something deliberately
3. when weather/water/chemicals etc slowly damage something
4. to damage something by using it
5. physical damage caused by something
RELATED WORDS
to have a bad effect on something : ↑ HARM
to damage something so badly it cannot be repaired : ↑ DESTROY
to hurt or injure someone : ↑ HURT/INJURE
damage to the environment : ↑ ENVIRONMENT (5)
see also
↑ BREAK
↑ BROKEN/NOT BROKEN
↑ SPOIL
↑ TEAR
↑ MARK
↑ REPAIR
↑ CONDITION (1-6)
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1. to damage something
▷ damage /ˈdæmɪdʒ/ [transitive verb]
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.
damaged [adjective]
▪ I was lucky to escape from the accident with nothing but a damaged windscreen.
▷ do/cause damage /ˌduː, ˌkɔːz ˈdæmɪdʒ/ [verb phrase]
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.
▷ break /breɪk/ [transitive verb]
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.
broken /ˈbrəʊkən/ [adjective]
▪ One of the car’s rear lights is broken.
▷ scratch /skrætʃ/ [transitive verb]
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.
scratched [adjective]
▪ The kitchen has a beautiful wooden floor, but it’s badly scratched.
2. to damage something deliberately
▷ vandalize also vandalise British /ˈvænd ə l-aɪz/ [transitive verb usually in passive]
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.
vandal [countable noun]
someone who vandalizes things: :
▪ Vandals broke into the school and wrecked two classrooms.
vandalism [uncountable noun]
the criminal activity of vandalizing things :
▪ In recent years, there has been an increase in vandalism in inner-city areas.
▷ smash up /ˌsmæʃ ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb] 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.
▷ trash /træʃ/ [transitive verb] 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.
▷ sabotage /ˈsæbətɑːʒ/ [transitive verb]
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.
sabotage [uncountable noun]
when people secretly damage machines or equipment: :
▪ Armed soldiers patrol the airbase to guard against sabotage.
▷ tamper with /ˈtæmpəʳ wɪð/ [transitive phrasal verb]
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.
▷ deface /dɪˈfeɪs/ [transitive verb]
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’.
▷ desecrate /ˈdesɪkreɪt/ [transitive verb]
to damage a church or other holy place :
▪ The church had been desecrated by vandals.
▪ Most of the Egyptian tombs were desecrated and robbed.
desecration /ˌdesɪˈkreɪʃ ə n, ˌdesəˈkreɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
3. when weather/water/chemicals etc slowly damage something
▷ wear away /ˌweər əˈweɪ/ [transitive phrasal verb]
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.
▷ erode /ɪˈrəʊd/ [transitive verb]
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.
erosion /ɪˈrəʊʒ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
▪ the erosion of the coastline
▪ soil erosion on hillsides
▷ corrode /kəˈrəʊd/ [transitive verb]
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.
corrosion /kəˈrəʊʒ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
▪ The problem is how to protect the metal surface from corrosion.
corrosive /kəˈrəʊsɪv/ [adjective]
▪ a bottle of corrosive acid
▷ rust/rust away /rʌst, ˌrʌst əˈweɪ/ []
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.
rust [uncountable noun]
4. to damage something by using it
▷ wear out /ˌweər ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
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.
▷ wear /weəʳ/ [uncountable noun]
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.
▷ wear and tear /ˌweər ən ˈteəʳ/ [noun phrase]
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.
5. physical damage caused by something
▷ damage /ˈdæmɪdʒ/ [uncountable noun]
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.