the act of causing harm or damage; something that causes harm or damage 伤害；损害；造成伤害（或损害）的事物 Wood accounts for 90% of energy production in some countries, with consequent environmental detriment. 有些国家90%的能源产自木材，因而给环境造成了破坏。 Too many tests are a detriment to good education. 过多的考试不利于良好的教育。
Word Originlate Middle English in the sense ‘loss sustained by damage’: from Old French, from Latin detrimentum, from detri-, stem of deterere ‘wear away’.
Idioms
to the detriment of somebody/something | to somebody's/something’s detriment
without detriment (to somebody/something)
not resulting in harm or damage to somebody/something （结果）无害于，无损于 This tax cannot be introduced without detriment to people’s living standards. 这项税收的征收不能不损害人民的生活水平。