In Law, Damage and Damages Are Different Things
Damage is harm done. Damages, with the S, is the money a court orders in compensation for it.
Damage is harm or injury impairing value or usefulness. Law separates it from its own plural: *damage* is the harm, while *damages* is the sum of money awarded to compensate for it. A claimant proves damage and receives damages, and using the wrong one in a legal context changes the meaning entirely.
- Harm done. *Structural damage.*
- Damages — compensation awarded. *Awarded damages.*
- To harm. *The fire damaged the roof.*
- What's the damage? — informal for the bill. *What's the damage?*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | damage | Extensive damage. |
| Legal plural | damages | Punitive damages. |
| Verb | damage | Damage the goods. |
| Adjective | damaging | A damaging report. |
| Related | damn | From the same root. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The storm caused damage.The harm.
- The court awarded damages.The money.
- Damage limitation is under way.Reducing the harm.
Kinds of damages
- Compensatory — to restore the claimant's position
- Nominal — a token sum where a right was breached but no loss occurred
- Punitive — to punish, rare outside the United States
- Aggravated — for additional distress caused
- Liquidated — a sum fixed in advance by contract
From Old French *damage*, from Latin *damnum*, loss or harm — the same root as *condemn* and *damn*.
Damage or damages?
Damage is the harm; damages is the compensation. The distinction matters in legal writing.
Are damage and damn related?
Yes. Both come from Latin *damnum*, meaning loss, harm or a penalty.