collateral damage

NOUN

unintentional damage to non-military people or property during war

Synonyms

WEAK

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“With the yen funding a substantial volume of cross-currency positions, a more aggressive tightening path than markets currently anticipate carries the potential to inflict significant collateral damage well beyond Japan’s borders.”

From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026

Chemotherapy attempts to control the disease through widespread cell destruction, causing significant collateral damage to healthy tissues that lead to side effects.

From Science Daily • Jun. 4, 2026

But they did not want their children to become collateral damage in the labor fight.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

“The fear is that being collateral damage in the war extends into peace, and this is something we wouldn’t accept and need to work against.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

But the collateral damage of this era of narrowed learning is far harder to measure and will be recognized, if at all, only years into the future.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove