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definitions

dam

See more synonyms for dam on Thesaurus.com
  1. dekameter; dekameters.

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.

Origin of dam

1
1275–1325; Middle English < Middle Dutch, Middle Low German, dam; akin to Old English for-demman to stop up, block

Synonyms for dam

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
5. impede, clog, check, choke.

dam

2
[dam]
noun
  1. a female parent (used especially of four-footed domestic animals).

Origin of dam

2
1250–1300; Middle English; variant of dame

Dam

[dam, dahm]
noun
  1. (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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for dam

barrier, dike, levee, gate, ditch, bank, clog, grade, obstruction, barrage, hindrance, millpond, weir, milldam, obstruct, hinder, retard, slow, bar, repress

Examples from the Web for dam

Contemporary Examples of dam

Historical Examples of dam

  • Then they tore out the dam, rinsed the screen and spread it over a rock to dry.

    Her Father's Daughter

    Gene Stratton-Porter

  • As in a trance, he saw more than the dam; he saw what it symbolized.

    Raiders Invisible

    Desmond Winter Hall

  • The women they shot as readily as they would the dam of the wolf or the bear.

    King Philip

    John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott

  • I wish Kenelm or some other dam' fool was here instead of me.

    Thankful's Inheritance

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • He said give you his Regards and tell you you was a dam lukky Man.

    Cap'n Dan's Daughter

    Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for dam

dam

1
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 dams, damming or dammed
  1. (tr often foll by up) to obstruct or restrict by or as if by a dam

Word Origin for dam

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

dam

2
noun
  1. the female parent of an animal, esp of domestic livestock

Word Origin for dam

C13: variant of dame

dam

3
interjection, adverb, adjective
  1. (often used in combination) a variant spelling of damn (def. 1), damn (def. 2), damn (def. 3), damn (def. 4) damfool; dammit

dam

4
symbol for
  1. decametre(s)

Dam

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

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.

v.

late 15c., from dam (n.1). Related: Dammed; damming.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
dam in Medicine

dam

[dăm]
n.
  1. 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.

Dam

[dăm, däm](Carl Peter) Henrik 1895-1976
  1. Danish biochemist. He shared a 1943 Nobel Prize for the discovery of vitamin K.
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.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.