damp
Americanadjective
-
damper,
comparative
-
dampest
superlative
noun
verb (used with object)
-
damps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
damped,
past participle, past
-
damping
present participle
-
to make damp; moisten.
- Synonyms:
- humidify
-
to check or retard the energy, action, etc., of; deaden; dampen.
A series of failures damped her enthusiasm.
-
to stifle or suffocate; extinguish.
to damp a furnace.
-
Acoustics, Music. to check or retard the action of (a vibrating string); dull; deaden.
-
Physics. to cause a decrease in amplitude of (successive oscillations or waves).
verb phrase
adjective
-
slightly wet, as from dew, steam, etc
-
archaic dejected
noun
-
slight wetness; moisture; humidity
-
rank air or poisonous gas, esp in a mine See also firedamp
-
a discouragement; damper
-
archaic dejection
verb
-
to make slightly wet
-
(often foll by down) to stifle or deaden
to damp one's ardour
-
(often foll by down) to reduce the flow of air to (a fire) to make it burn more slowly or to extinguish it
-
physics to reduce the amplitude of (an oscillation or wave)
-
music to muffle (the sound of an instrument)
Synonym Usage
Damp, humid, moist mean slightly wet. Damp usually implies slight and extraneous wetness, generally undesirable or unpleasant unless the result of intention: a damp cellar; to put a damp cloth on a patient's forehead. Humid is applied to unpleasant dampness in the air: The air is oppressively humid today. Moist denotes something that is slightly wet, naturally or properly: moist ground; moist leather.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dampsimple
-
dampssimple
-
have dampedperfect
-
has dampedperfect
-
am dampingprogressive
-
are dampingprogressive
-
is dampingprogressive
-
have been dampingperfect progressive
-
has been dampingperfect progressive
Past
-
dampedsimple
-
had dampedperfect
-
was dampingprogressive
-
were dampingprogressive
-
had been dampingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of damp
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (in sense of damp def. 5 ); compare Middle Dutch damp, Middle High German dampf “vapor, smoke”
Explanation
Something that's damp is slightly wet or soggy. If your shoes are damp when you enter your friend's white-carpeted house, you should probably take them off. Damp things are moist. Your lawn might be damp with dew in the morning, and if it's supposed to rain lightly, the weather report might include the word damp. Sometimes damp is a noun, as when your grandmother warns, "Don't go out in the damp without your umbrella!" To damp is to hold back, make soft, or restrain: "Use your hand to damp the sound of the cymbal after you hit it with the drumstick."
Vocabulary lists containing damp
Vocabulary from Readings 4, Unit 1
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"Boar Out There" by Cynthia Rylant
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Vocabulary from Readings 4, Unit 1
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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:
Sleeping with 60 people in a damp basement that proves snoring is an international language.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Advisory firm Oxford Economics said the direct impact on Iran's revenues would be "somewhat of a damp squib".
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Nevertheless, Brook ensured England used the play possible on a damp, dank day in Leeds to cement their advantage.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
High yields on Treasurys could also damp demand for corporate bonds that offer only a modest bump in yield over government benchmark bonds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
The dirt beneath me is damp, but there’s not a drop for me to drink.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
The Italian passed Russell for second behind pole-sitter Norris at the first start as the Briton was slowed by the inside of the grid being damper than the outside after a shower of rain.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
The recent cancellation of Marvel’s ‘Wonder Man’ may put a damper on the actor’s Emmy campaign, but he still has Netflix’s ‘Cliff Booth’ movie to look forward to.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Marriott International MAR -0.71%decrease; down pointing triangle said the conflict in Iran put a significant damper on second-quarter sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
But only a slim margin will be left over, and that will put a damper on shareholder returns.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
The presence of the commander always a damper.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
“A basic plastic bin is fine for items stored inside, but Weathertight storage containers have a seal to keep out moisture, even in the dampest garages,” Allbee says.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2023
This was the dampest of damp nights on Tyneside, with a torrential cloudburst delivering a freezing cold shower all over Newcastle United's Champions League aspirations.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2023
In this mild winter, Friday seemed to be one of Washington’s dampest, chilliest, breeziest, and possibly even gloomiest, days of the year.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2023
And while it's a hearty meal for the dampest autumn evening, be sure save a little room afterward for some cookies, pie, cake — or all three.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2022
He pulled out the bottom ones, which were the dampest, and started to spread the others over the floor.
From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill
Critics have also alleged that the measure damps the housing market.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2024
Chloroquine might protect patients hospitalized with pneumonia against lethal cytokine storms because it damps down immune reactions, several doctors said.
From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2020
The slip-on grip looks like a wrap grip, but boasts some modern-day tech in the form of a proprietary compound that damps vibration while providing the necessary tackiness under a variety of conditions.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 17, 2018
The shock absorber damps the motion and dissipates energy, analogous to the resistance in an RLC circuit.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
A quack doctor pitched patent medicines from the back of a wagon: “A rare cordial to fortify the innards against infective parasites, unwholesome damps, and malignant effluvia!”
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
These electronically damped wheeled selectors offer three axes of input, using microtorque feedback to imitate the bump and tug of physical detents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Price pressures could rise again when policy measures to lower energy prices expire, he noted, saying that they damped the eurozone’s inflation rate by around 0.4 percentage points in May.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Vail Resorts MTN 1.36%increase; green up pointing triangle once again cut its outlook for the year, citing historically challenging weather conditions across the western U.S. that have continually damped demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
It damped the volatility around what the Fed might do next, which in turn helped hold down interest rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
But the tumult that had raged inside her damped down more and more as though beat into the muddy earth under the horses’ hooves.
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
There’s a chance, experts noted, that this year’s El Niño could bring more fall rain, damping the Santa Ana winds’s ability to fuel fast-moving fires.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Despite an active El Niño, experts say the Southwestern United States likely won’t feel its damping effect until next year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Now we have active suspension damping, which the Journal’s Dan Neil has reviewed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
They have had to navigate economic uncertainty, high interest rates and rapid shifts in trade policy, damping demand for new space.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
He and his brigade of architects, draftsmen, engineers, and contractors had accomplished so much in an impossibly short time, but apparently not enough to overcome the damping effect of the fast-degrading economy.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
