Dictionary.com
definitions

damp

[damp]
See more synonyms for damp on Thesaurus.com
adjective, damp·er, damp·est.
  1. slightly wet; moist: damp weather; a damp towel.
  2. unenthusiastic; dejected; depressed: The welcoming committee gave them a rather damp reception.
noun
  1. moisture; humidity; moist air: damp that goes through your warmest clothes.
  2. a noxious or stifling vapor or gas, especially in a mine.
  3. depression of spirits; dejection.
  4. a restraining or discouraging force or factor.
verb (used with object)
  1. to make damp; moisten.
  2. to check or retard the energy, action, etc., of; deaden; dampen: A series of failures damped her enthusiasm.
  3. to stifle or suffocate; extinguish: to damp a furnace.
  4. Acoustics, Music. to check or retard the action of (a vibrating string); dull; deaden.
  5. Physics. to cause a decrease in amplitude of (successive oscillations or waves).
Verb Phrases
  1. damp off, to undergo damping-off.

Origin of damp

1300–50; Middle English (in sense of def. 4); compare Middle Dutch damp, Middle High German dampf vapor, smoke
Related formsdamp·ish, adjectivedamp·ish·ly, adverbdamp·ish·ness, noundamp·ly, adverbdamp·ness, noun
Can be confuseddamp moist (see synonym study at the current entry)damp dampen

Synonyms for damp

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
1. dank, steamy. 3. dankness, dampness, fog, vapor. 7. humidify. 8. slow, inhibit, restrain, moderate, abate.

Synonym study

1. 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.

Antonyms for damp

1. dry.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for damp

muggy, soggy, misty, soaked, cloudy, sticky, moist, dank, steamy, waterlogged, saturated, sodden, drizzly, sopping, dripping, soaking, drenched, clammy, vaporous, drippy

Examples from the Web for damp

Contemporary Examples of damp

Historical Examples of damp

  • They were putting on outer clothes from the store-room to protect them from the dirt and damp.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • He passed his hand across his damp forehead, for he felt faint with dread.

    Viviette

    William J. Locke

  • Dick, vaguely conscious of damp and dirt, went up to his bedroom.

    Viviette

    William J. Locke

  • The damp snow packed on Blondey's hoofs, so that he was walking on snowballs.

    A Woman Tenderfoot

    Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson

  • In damp weather it is sometimes difficult to get the froth stiff.

British Dictionary definitions for damp

damp

adjective
  1. slightly wet, as from dew, steam, etc
  2. archaic dejected
noun
  1. slight wetness; moisture; humidity
  2. rank air or poisonous gas, esp in a mineSee also firedamp
  3. a discouragement; damper
  4. archaic dejection
verb (tr)
  1. to make slightly wet
  2. (often foll by down) to stifle or deadento damp one's ardour
  3. (often foll by down) to reduce the flow of air to (a fire) to make it burn more slowly or to extinguish it
  4. physics to reduce the amplitude of (an oscillation or wave)
  5. music to muffle (the sound of an instrument)
See also damp off
Derived Formsdampish, adjectivedamply, adverbdampness, noun

Word Origin for damp

C14: from Middle Low German damp steam; related to Old High German demphen to cause to steam
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 damp
n.

early 14c., "a noxious vapor," perhaps in Old English but there is no record of it. If not, probably from Middle Low German damp; ultimately in either case from Proto-Germanic *dampaz (cf. Old High German damph, German Dampf "vapor;" Old Norse dampi "dust"). Sense of "moisture, humidity" is first certainly attested 1706.

v.

late 14c., "to suffocate," from damp (n.). Figurative meaning "to deaden (the spirits, etc.)" attested by 1540s. Meaning "to moisten" is recorded from 1670s. Related: Damped; damping.

adj.

1580s, "dazed," from damp (n.). Meaning "slightly wet" is from 1706. Related: Dampness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper