collateral damage
noun
: injury inflicted on something other than an intended target
specifically
: civilian casualties of a military operation
Examples of collateral damage in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Advertisement The massive write-down brings into sharp focus the collateral damage of the shift to streaming.
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Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2024
All the other deaths were unplanned, simply and horrifically, collateral damage – the rage of a monster trying to escape from his crime.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 18 July 2024
When the shelters evict parents, their children become collateral damage.
—Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 13 June 2024
In these circumstances, prior estimates of collateral damage become especially dubious and cannot be used to assess proportionality.
—Avner Gvaryahu, Foreign Affairs, 4 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for collateral damage 
Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2024
All the other deaths were unplanned, simply and horrifically, collateral damage – the rage of a monster trying to escape from his crime.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 18 July 2024
When the shelters evict parents, their children become collateral damage.
—Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 13 June 2024
In these circumstances, prior estimates of collateral damage become especially dubious and cannot be used to assess proportionality.
—Avner Gvaryahu, Foreign Affairs, 4 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for collateral damage
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'collateral damage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near collateral damage
Cite this Entry
“Collateral damage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collateral%20damage. Accessed 11 Sep. 2024.
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