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

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Etymology

Origin of damper

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

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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

That could put a damper on Dutch Bros’s ambitious growth targets, said Ari Felhandler, an analyst with Morningstar who anticipates the company will fall short of its 2029 shop count goal by about 300 locations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

At around that level, investors tend to become increasingly concerned that higher borrowing costs could put a damper on economic growth, while increasing the cost of capital for large publicly traded companies, Buchbinder said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

Their schedule has included indoor matches in Dallas and Atlanta, and the three they have played outdoors - in Boston, New Jersey and Mexico City - have been in cooler, damper conditions.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 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

The presence of the commander always a damper.

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

As it ought to be, the interior is spectacular, with traditional eyeball vents and chromed organ-pull dampers sharing space with discretely deployed digital displays and other modern conveniences.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 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

Moreover, they added, in many buildings, the underlying air-handling infrastructure — the fans and filters, dampers and ductwork — is poorly maintained, and improving indoor air quality will require investing in these basic technologies.

From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2023

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 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

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