dam
noun
a barrier to obstruct the flow of water, especially one of earth, masonry, etc., built across a stream or river.
dam
1 American
[dam]
/ dæm /
noun
-
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.
dam
2
American
[dam]
/ dæm /
noun
dam
3
American
abbreviation
Dam
4
American
[dam, dahm]
/ dæm, dɑm /
noun
dam
1
British
/ dæm /
noun
-
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
verb
Dam
2
British
/ dam /
noun
dam
3
British
/ dæm /
noun
dam
4
British
/ dæm /
interjection
dam
5
British
symbol
dam
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
damsimple
-
damssimple
-
have dammedperfect
-
has dammedperfect
-
am dammingprogressive
-
are dammingprogressive
-
is dammingprogressive
-
have been dammingperfect progressive
-
has been dammingperfect progressive
Past
-
dammedsimple
-
had dammedperfect
-
was dammingprogressive
-
were dammingprogressive
-
had been dammingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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
Explanation
A barrier built to block the flow of water is called a dam. If you walk along a stream, you can see where beavers have built a dam out of mud and logs. As a verb, dam means to obstruct or blockade as with a dam. If the kids you're babysitting dam up the bathtub drain when you're not paying attention, the water might overflow and cause a waterfall into the living room downstairs. But water isn't the only thing that can be dammed. You shouldn't dam up your emotions — go ahead and scream if you need to.
Vocabulary lists containing dam
"A Modest Proposal," Vocabulary from the satire
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East Asia - Middle School
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East Asia - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
Interior Secretary Harold Ickes ended the skirmish by imposing a truce and persuading Congress to designate the dam as a federal project.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
One morning last month, Paxon, now a 79-year-old county commissioner, pointed to where the diminished reservoir lapped at the base of the 301-foot dam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
That happened back in 2023, after nine years of campaigning, and halted the construction of a hydropower dam that would have damaged the ecosystem.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Nepali police urged all rescuers to "immediately move to a safe location", saying they had received information that "a water dam has burst again on the Tibetan side".
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
The dam spelled the end of life as they knew it!
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
When combined, the fighter jets and air defence systems "create a significant capability to protect and defend major cities and critical infrastructure such as the Renaissance Dam, providing key strategic air superiority," Qalaab said.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Oleshky was flooded after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in June 2023.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Satellite images captured the dramatic change in Lake Powell near Glen Canyon Dam.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
Each year, the Bureau of Reclamation is required to have a plan detailing how it will keep water downstream from Shasta Dam cold enough to protect salmon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
They passed through Beaver Dam, a small town.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Hydroelectric dams have proliferated across Southeast Asia in recent years, but production drops off in the dry season and critics lament the ecological impacts.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
According to Mr. Kean, the Indus Valley people specialized in big infrastructure projects, such as dams, reservoirs and early sewers that carried waste safely out of their settlements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
The Scott River flows into the Klamath downstream from where the dams stood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The Himalayas have already seen devastating examples of what can happen when glacial lakes burst their natural dams.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Ophie and her mother had gone to see one of the Allegheny River’s many dams after they’d arrived, a trip to sightsee a bit in their new home.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
Some say a landslide may have blocked the river or its tributary for some time, causing the dammed water to burst out, while others say locals upstream saw an ice-avalanche.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
The deadly flash flood in Nepal on Wednesday likely was caused by a huge chunk of a glacier that broke off and temporarily dammed a river, according to preliminary investigations by scientists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Late one night in October 2023, part of the shelf of rocks and ice that dammed the lake in northeast India collapsed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
It is dammed by a massive ridge of rubble that the glacier piled up over thousands of years.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 10, 2024
Where a fallen tree dammed the flow, the hunters were forced to loop around a deep green pool, but if the direwolves had done the same they'd left neither print nor spoor.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
That mass of rock and ice plunged about 800 metres onto a debris-covered glacier, before surging downhill, briefly damming the Lhende River.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Andrew Law, a sociologist at Newcastle University in the U.K., has used lidar mapping to digitally preserve structures along China’s Yangtze River that were threatened or wiped out by extensive damming.
From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2025
Habitat destruction, damming, and pollution have decimated local populations, such that many species are in dire need of help.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024
Respected non-partisan polling organisation Afrobarometer released a damming report earlier this year.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2024
The impact would have knocked down every structure in the city and collapsed the underground waterways, damming the Uzumark that flows under our feet, and flooding the whole valley.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
