dam
noun
a barrier to obstruct the flow of water, especially one of earth, masonry, etc., built across a stream or river.
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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:
On Aug. 26, the alert mechanism failed again and the dam was dashed to pieces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 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
Nepal has almost no large reservoirs capable of doing this: its main storage dam, Kulekhani, holds less than a tenth of a cubic kilometre, "so there's nothing to release", says Sanyal.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Worker Buddha Tamang said he survived only because he was inside a tunnel at the dam where he worked when the flood struck -- but he had managed to get out and reach help.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
It was very hot and we stopped under some trees beside a dam that crossed the river.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
Last month marked a grim milestone: the combined volume of both reservoirs hit their lowest level since 1957, when Glen Canyon Dam was still under construction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
At Lake Mead, the reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam, the dead-pool water level is 895 feet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
For about a year, towering remnants of the St. Francis Dam stood eerily in the empty canyon, a reminder of the disaster, before the city had them dynamited.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Earlier in July, local journalists were asked to "soften" their language to describe a major breach in the wall of the Liulan Dam near Naning as an "opening" or "gap".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
But the Curtis family was determined to live under the St. Francis Dam.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
The roiling mass of water, unleashed by a glacial collapse, swept down the Trishuli river, devastating a roughly 40-mile corridor of dams that were supposed to drive economic growth for mountainous Nepal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Once the creatures establish their territory, their dams, canals and wetlands can help to create new habitats for other wildlife and keep water in the landscape for longer.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Floods tore through mountain districts, and destroyed roads, bridges and and hydropower dams.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
She said it’s also positive for rivers because there is “mounting evidence that some dams and reservoirs and water infrastructure do more harm than good.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
They work very hard, some days planting rice and vegetables and cutting lumber, and other days building dams and digging trenches.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
These lakes are prone to failing because they are precariously dammed by walls made of frozen earth, rocks and ice created by the movement of a glacier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
Some Alaskans are evacuating their homes as meltwater escapes a basin dammed by the Mendenhall Glacier - raising fears of record-breaking flooding in the US state's capital city.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2025
Meadows along those dammed riverscapes have already acted as wildlife safety zones during several fires that burned through the reservation over the past few years, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2024
The process dirtied lakes, cut down forests and dammed up rivers.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 8, 2024
When the Zambezi was dammed, the water had pushed up into the river and drowned part of the shoreline.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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
Organisers said the chances of seeing the nocturnal animals during the day would be slim but added the tours would offer a first hand look at the animals' damming and digging skills.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026
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
The fight between environmentalists and dam builders escalated in the 1960s, after the bureau proposed damming the Colorado River next to another U.S. treasure: Grand Canyon National Park.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2024
And he pushed the King out of the door, damming it in his face.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
