dam
- dekameter; dekameters.
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dam1
[dam]
- a barrier to obstruct the flow of water, especially one of earth, masonry, etc., built across a stream or river.
- a body of water confined by a dam.
- any barrier resembling a dam.
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- to furnish with a dam; obstruct or confine with a dam.
- to stop up; block up.
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Origin of dam1
1275–1325; Middle English < Middle Dutch, Middle Low German, dam; akin to Old English for-demman to stop up, block
Synonyms
See more synonyms for dam on Thesaurus.com5. impede, clog, check, choke.
dam2
[dam]
- a female parent (used especially of four-footed domestic animals).
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Origin of dam2
Dam
[dam, dahm]
- (Carl Pe·ter) Hen·rik [kahrl pee-ter hen-rik; Danish kahrl pey-tuh r hen-rik] /kɑrl ˈpi tɛr ˈhɛn rɪk; Danish kɑrl ˈpeɪ tər ˈhɛn rɪk/, 1895–1976, Danish biochemist: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1943.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for dam
Contemporary Examples
A dam now in place on the Thai side of the line prevents the railway from being reconstructed in its entirety, he explains.
When the family was fine, or when a cruel employee at the dam was behind the flood, God was left out of the explanation.
For example, he added, many highly valuable Western hostages are held in an ISIS prison beneath a dam near Raqqa.
The Arizona senator described a provision inserted into the debt deal appropriating $2 billion for a Kentucky dam as "disgusting."
The ceremony at the Nieuwe Kerk on Dam Square should be a model of stately splendor.
Historical Examples
Then they tore out the dam, rinsed the screen and spread it over a rock to dry.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
As in a trance, he saw more than the dam; he saw what it symbolized.
Raiders InvisibleDesmond Winter Hall
The women they shot as readily as they would the dam of the wolf or the bear.
King PhilipJohn S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott
I wish Kenelm or some other dam' fool was here instead of me.
Thankful's InheritanceJoseph C. Lincoln
He said give you his Regards and tell you you was a dam lukky Man.
Cap'n Dan's DaughterJoseph C. Lincoln
dam1
- 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
- a reservoir of water created by such a barrier
- something that resembles or functions as a dam
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- (tr often foll by up) to obstruct or restrict by or as if by a dam
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Word Origin
C12: probably from Middle Low German; compare Old Icelandic damma to block up
dam2
- the female parent of an animal, esp of domestic livestock
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Word Origin
C13: variant of dame
dam3
- (often used in combination) a variant spelling of damn (def. 1), damn (def. 2), damn (def. 3), damn (def. 4) damfool; dammit
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dam4
- decametre(s)
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Dam
- (Carl Peter) Henrik (ˈhɛnrəɡ). 1895–1976, Danish biochemist who discovered vitamin K (1934): Nobel prize for physiology or medicine 1943
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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
Word Origin and History for dam
n.1
"water barrier," early 14c., probably from Old Norse dammr or Middle Dutch dam, both from Proto-Germanic *dammaz (cf. Old Frisian damm, German Damm), of unknown origin.
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n.2
"animal mother," c.1300, variant of dame (q.v.), also originally used, like that word, for "lady, mother;" but meanings diverged into separate spellings by 16c.
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v.
late 15c., from dam (n.1). Related: Dammed; damming.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
dam
(dăm)- A barrier against the passage of liquid or loose material, especially a rubber sheet used in dentistry to isolate one or more teeth from the rest of the mouth.
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Dam
(dăm, däm)(Carl Peter) Henrik 1895-1976- Danish biochemist. He shared a 1943 Nobel Prize for the discovery of vitamin K.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Idioms and Phrases with dam
dam
see water over the dam.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.