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

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

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 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

His absence in the Warriors’ last home game of the season also put a damper on what could have been another enthralling matchup between two of the league’s biggest stars.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026

Should Powell stick around after his term ends on May 15, that could put a damper on the market, Smith said.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026

The presence of the commander always a damper.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

Carbon-ceramic brakes and magnetic adaptive dampers come as standard equipment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

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