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
After the initial excitement over new revenue from gambling taxation, several U.S. states are having second thoughts and considering how to limit the collateral damage.
—
Editorial Board, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
Versailles is clutched in a desperate battle between Louis’s mistresses, and the collateral damage is only growing.
—Samuel Ashworth, Washington Post, 24 July 2024
Your vendetta against me is causing collateral damage to innocent people.
—Evan Rosen, New York Daily News, 20 Mar. 2024
But beginning in 2012, Google made a number of spam-fighting changes to its ranking algorithms, and Metafilter, for mysterious reasons, suffered collateral damage.
—Steven Levy, WIRED, 12 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for collateral damage 
Editorial Board, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
Versailles is clutched in a desperate battle between Louis’s mistresses, and the collateral damage is only growing.
—Samuel Ashworth, Washington Post, 24 July 2024
Your vendetta against me is causing collateral damage to innocent people.
—Evan Rosen, New York Daily News, 20 Mar. 2024
But beginning in 2012, Google made a number of spam-fighting changes to its ranking algorithms, and Metafilter, for mysterious reasons, suffered collateral damage.
—Steven Levy, WIRED, 12 July 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 19 Aug. 2024.
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