deaths of or injury to civilians (= people not in the armed forces) or damage to buildings that are not connected to the military during a war. People say ‘collateral damage’ to avoid saying ‘innocent people being killed’. 附带损害:战争期间平民的死亡或伤害,或与战争无关的建筑物的损坏。人们说“附带损害”以避免说“无辜者被杀”。 Collateral damage caused by the drone attacks was high. 无人机袭击造成的附带损害很大。 They were rightly concerned about civilian collateral damage. 他们对平民附带损害的担忧是有道理的。 - (figurative)
As forests are cleared for logging, woodland caribou become collateral damage (= the animals die even though they are not deliberately killed). 随着森林被砍伐,林地驯鹿成为附带损害。