damp

[ damp ]
See synonyms for: dampdampeddamperdamping on Thesaurus.com

adjective,damp·er, damp·est.
  1. slightly wet; moist: damp weather;a damp towel.

  2. unenthusiastic; halfhearted; tepid: The welcoming committee gave them a rather damp reception.

  1. dejected; depressed: I went shopping to lift my damp spirits.

noun
  1. moisture; humidity; moist air: damp that goes through your warmest clothes.

  2. a noxious or stifling vapor or gas, especially in a mine.

  1. depression of spirits; dejection.

  2. a restraining or discouraging force or factor.

verb (used with object)
  1. to make damp; moisten.

  2. to check or retard the energy, action, etc., of; deaden; dampen: A series of failures damped her enthusiasm.

  1. to stifle or suffocate; extinguish: to damp a furnace.

  2. Acoustics, Music. to check or retard the action of (a vibrating string); dull; deaden.

  3. Physics. to cause a decrease in amplitude of (successive oscillations or waves).

Verb Phrases
  1. damp off, Plant Pathology. to undergo damping-off.

Origin of damp

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (in sense of def. 5 ); compare Middle Dutch damp, Middle High German dampf “vapor, smoke”

synonym study For damp

1. Damp, humid, moist mean slightly wet. Damp usually implies slight and extraneous wetness, generally undesirable or unpleasant unless the result of intention: a damp cellar; to put a damp cloth on a patient's forehead. Humid is applied to unpleasant dampness in the air: The air is oppressively humid today. Moist denotes something that is slightly wet, naturally or properly: moist ground; moist leather.

Other words for damp

Opposites for damp

Other words from damp

  • dampish, adjective
  • damp·ish·ly, adverb
  • damp·ish·ness, noun
  • damply, adverb
  • dampness, noun

Words that may be confused with damp

Words Nearby damp

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use damp in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for damp

damp

/ (dæmp) /


adjective
  1. slightly wet, as from dew, steam, etc

  2. archaic dejected

noun
  1. slight wetness; moisture; humidity

  2. rank air or poisonous gas, esp in a mine: See also firedamp

  1. a discouragement; damper

  2. archaic dejection

verb(tr)
  1. to make slightly wet

  2. (often foll by down) to stifle or deaden: to damp one's ardour

  1. (often foll by down) to reduce the flow of air to (a fire) to make it burn more slowly or to extinguish it

  2. physics to reduce the amplitude of (an oscillation or wave)

  3. music to muffle (the sound of an instrument)

Origin of damp

1
C14: from Middle Low German damp steam; related to Old High German demphen to cause to steam

Derived forms of damp

  • dampish, adjective
  • damply, adverb
  • dampness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012