definitions

damping-off

[ dam-ping-awf, -of ]
/ ˈdæm pɪŋˈɔf, -ˈɒf /
|

noun Plant Pathology.

a disease of seedlings, occurring either before or immediately after emerging from the soil, characterized by rotting of the stem at soil level and eventual collapse of the plant, caused by any of several soil fungi.

RELATED CONTENT

Fight Off The Fantods With This Word Of The Day QuizThe upper crust might make a fuss over this week's Word of the Day Quiz. | March 11 – 17, 2019
READ MORE
Fight Off The Fantods With This Word Of The Day QuizThe upper crust might make a fuss over this week's Word of the Day Quiz. | March 11 – 17, 2019
READ MORE

Nearby words

damper pedal, dampier, dampier, william, damping, damping off, damping-off, dampness, dampproof, damrosch, damrosch, leopold, damrosch, walter johannes

Origin of damping-off

First recorded in 1895–1900

Definition for damping off (2 of 2)

Origin of damp

1300–50; Middle English (in sense of def. 4); compare Middle Dutch damp, Middle High German dampf vapor, smoke

ANTONYMS FOR damp

1 dry.

Related forms

Can be confused

damp moist (see synonym study at the current entry)damp dampen

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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for damping off (1 of 2)

damping off

noun

any of various diseases of plants, esp the collapse and death of seedlings caused by the parasitic fungus Pythium debaryanum and related fungi in conditions of excessive moisture

British Dictionary definitions for damping off (2 of 2)

damp

/ (dæmp) /

adjective

slightly wet, as from dew, steam, etc
archaic dejected

noun

verb (tr)

See also damp off

Derived Forms

dampish, 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

Science definitions for damping off

damping off

Any of various diseases of seedlings that are caused by oomycetes, especially of the genus Pythium, or by fungi, and result in wilting and death.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.