dam

¹

[ dam ]

noun

1. a barrier to obstruct the flow of water, especially one of earth, masonry, etc., built across a stream or river.
2. a body of water confined by a dam.
3. any barrier resembling a dam.

verb (used with object)

, dammed, dam·ming.

1. to furnish with a dam; obstruct or confine with a dam.
2. to stop up; block up.

   Synonyms: choke, check, clog, impede

dam

²

[ dam ]

noun

1. a female parent (used especially of four-footed domestic animals).

dam

³

abbreviation for

1. dekameter; dekameters.

Dam

⁴

[ dam, dahm ]

noun

1. (Carl Pe·ter) Hen·rik [kahrl , pee, -ter , hen, -rik, kah, r, l , pey, -t, uh, r, , hen, -, r, ik], 1895–1976, Danish biochemist: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1943.

dam

¹

symbol for

1. decametre(s)

dam

²

/ dæm /

noun

1. the female parent of an animal, esp of domestic livestock

dam

³

/ dæm /

noun

1. a barrier of concrete, earth, etc, built across a river to create a body of water for a hydroelectric power station, domestic water supply, etc
2. a reservoir of water created by such a barrier
3. something that resembles or functions as a dam

verb

1. troften foll byup to obstruct or restrict by or as if by a dam

dam

⁴

/ dæm /

interjection

1. See damn
   often used in combination a variant spelling of damn damn damn damn

   damfool

   dammit

Dam

⁵

/ dam /

noun

1. Dam(Carl Peter) Henrik18951976MDanishSCIENCE: chemist ( Carl Peter ) Henrik (ˈhɛnrəɡ). 1895–1976, Danish biochemist who discovered vitamin K (1934): Nobel prize for physiology or medicine 1943

Word History and Origins

Origin of dam¹

1275–1325; Middle English < Middle Dutch, Middle Low German, dam; akin to Old English for-demman to stop up, block

Origin of dam²

1250–1300; Middle English; variant of dame

Word History and Origins

Origin of dam¹

C13: variant of dame

Origin of dam²

C12: probably from Middle Low German; compare Old Icelandic damma to block up

Idioms and Phrases

see water over the dam .

Example Sentences

If someone clicks on a search at 3 AM, Google will find the electricity to power that query from a battery, wind turbine, solar panel, hydroelectric dam, or some other carbon-free technology at that precise moment.

From Quartz

Already, droughts regularly threaten food crops across the West, while destructive floods inundate towns and fields from the Dakotas to Maryland, collapsing dams in Michigan and raising the shorelines of the Great Lakes.

From ProPublica

McKay was drawn to this region because of an impending dam project, but rather than focus on conservation alone, he explores a person’s spiritual connection to a resource.

From Outside Online

As dams form ponds, more liquid water can come in contact with ice in the ground.

From Science News For Students

In fact, the dam has helped to shift longstanding power relationships and could pave the way for more cooperation among all the countries that depend on the Nile.

From Quartz

A dam now in place on the Thai side of the line prevents the railway from being reconstructed in its entirety, he explains.

From The Daily Beast

When the family was fine, or when a cruel employee at the dam was behind the flood, God was left out of the explanation.

From The Daily Beast

For example, he added, many highly valuable Western hostages are held in an ISIS prison beneath a dam near Raqqa.

From The Daily Beast

The Arizona senator described a provision inserted into the debt deal appropriating $2 billion for a Kentucky dam as "disgusting."

From The Daily Beast

No single joke can topple a tyrant, but each one is a small stone cast at an already fractured dam.

From The Daily Beast

They heard how in the early spring in the meadow by the mill-dam Tim and I had stopped our ploughs to draw lots and he had lost.

From Project Gutenberg

For that matter, he said, he didn't care a tinker's dam if we were; he had grub and bedding and we were welcome to both.

From Project Gutenberg

The great Dam at Assouan was just completed and we traversed its entire length on a trolley propelled by natives.

From Project Gutenberg

The dam was completed, booms and cribbing placed, ledges blasted out well within the six months' period set for those operations.

From Project Gutenberg

Then if each end of the log is on the upper side of the trees, the harder the water pounds the tighter the dam gets.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• clog