be damned

phrase

Used as an exclamation to express irritation with or reckless disregard of a person or thing.

“All they care about is profit, the environment be damned.”

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Meanings

phrase
  1. mildlyoptativevulgarUsed as an exclamation to express irritation with or reckless disregard of a person or thing.

    All they care about is profit, the environment be damned.

    3 more examples

    One pull more and you're at the top, and be damned to you.

    1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

    "Shoot and be damned, you skug!" exploded Nickle. "As soon as we can see, by God! you'll squeal for this pretty loudly."

    1934, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], The Bravo of London

    However, even if he can't save Taffy 3, there are still the ships of the landing force to consider, and he orders Admiral Oldendorf to extract two destroyer squadrons, five cruisers, and the battleships Tennessee, California, and Pennsylvania from wrapping-up operations in Surigao Strait and proceed at best speed north, fuel-and-ammunition-level concerns be damned.

    2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 19:11 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2022
Cite this entry
APA

be damned. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/be%20damned

MLA

“be damned.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/be%20damned. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “be damned,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/be%20damned.

Source: be damned on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.