Showing results for "damper"

• comparative of damp.

damper

American  

[dam-per] / ˈdæm pər /

noun

• dampers
  plural

1. a person or thing that damps or depresses.

   His glum mood put a damper on their party.

2. a movable plate for regulating the draft in a stove, furnace, etc.

3. Music.

   1. a device in stringed keyboard instruments to deaden the vibration of the strings.

   2. the mute of a brass instrument, as a horn.

4. Electricity. an attachment to keep the indicator of a measuring instrument from oscillating excessively, as a set of vanes in a fluid or a short-circuited winding in a magnetic field.

5. Machinery. a shock absorber.

6. Australian.

   1. a round, flat cake made of flour and water, and cooked over a campfire.

   2. the dough for such cakes.

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damper British  

/ ˈdæmpə /

noun

1. a person, event, or circumstance that depresses or discourages

2. to produce a depressing or inhibiting effect on

   the bad news put a damper on the party

3. a movable plate to regulate the draught in a stove or furnace flue

4. a device to reduce electronic, mechanical, acoustic, or aerodynamic oscillations in a system

5. music the pad in a piano or harpsichord that deadens the vibration of each string as its key is released

6. any of various unleavened loaves and scones, typically cooked on an open fire

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damper Idioms  

1. see put a damper on.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dampers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of damper

First recorded in 1740–50; damp + -er ¹

Explanation

When you put a damper on something, you restrain it or inhibit it. Putting a damper on things usually means bringing them down — your car troubles might put a damper on your travel plans. A forecast of afternoon thunderstorms will put a damper on your picnic preparations, and being assigned a long research paper on Friday might be a damper on your weekend free time. More physical kinds of dampers include a device that restrains air in a chimney, by blocking or directing its flow, and a pad that's made to soften or muffle the sound from a musical instrument.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

damper dampers

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

Optical stocks have emerged as a bountiful play on the artificial-intelligence trade, but Friday’s selloff is putting a damper on that momentum.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026

If this World Cup has been marred by astronomical ticket prices, that hasn’t put a damper on the tournament in the Pacific Northwest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

"I think it really put a damper on all the watch parties," he said.

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026

The oakwood fire roared up past an open damper to heat the oven for the bread, which lay white and rising in the pans.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

The vehicle’s dampers adjust instantly according to the camera feed monitoring the road ahead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

CFM said the majority of parts involved are "non-serialized items like bolts, nuts, washers, dampers, seals and bushings".

From Reuters ● Oct. 5, 2023

By Season 3, he’s shaken off his dampers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2023

Components such as dampers, which act like shock absorbers as the building sways to and fro, and rubber bearings, which are fitted underneath a building and absorb the energy of a quake, can be added.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2023

So Debussy’s hanging chords, with the dampers kept away from the strings, represented a kind of return to nature, a move away from the more artificial sound of block chords.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall