tamp
Americanverb (used with object)
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to force in or down by repeated, rather light, strokes.
He tamped the tobacco in his pipe.
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(in blasting) to fill (a drilled hole) with earth or the like after the charge has been inserted.
verb
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to force or pack down firmly by repeated blows
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to pack sand, earth, etc into (a drill hole) over an explosive
verb
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(tr) to bounce (a ball)
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to pour with rain
Etymology
Origin of tamp
First recorded in 1810–20; perhaps alteration of tampion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Auto Show, and that “fanfare over the electric future was decidedly tamped down.”
From Los Angeles Times
The video was part of a Department of Transportation “civility campaign” that aims to tamp down on in-flight fighting and other “unruly passenger behavior.”
From Los Angeles Times
And when it came to lower-income consumers in particular, they tried to tamp down Wall Street’s concerns.
From MarketWatch
Plaintiffs’ attorneys have yet to provide direct evidence that state officials asked the Fire Department to tamp back its firefighting.
From Los Angeles Times
The pandemic’s temporary supply-chain disruptions, he explained, did nothing to tamp down long-term demand.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
