tamp

[tamp]

verb (used with object)

1. to force in or down by repeated, rather light, strokes.

   He tamped the tobacco in his pipe.

2. (in blasting) to fill (a drilled hole) with earth or the like after the charge has been inserted.

tamp

¹

/ tæmp /

verb

1. to force or pack down firmly by repeated blows

2. to pack sand, earth, etc into (a drill hole) over an explosive

tamp

²

/ tæmp /

verb

1. (tr) to bounce (a ball)

2. to pour with rain

Word History and Origins

Origin of tamp¹

First recorded in 1810–20; perhaps alteration of tampion

Word History and Origins

Origin of tamp¹

C17: probably a back formation from tampin (obsolete variant of _tampion ), which was taken as being a present participle tamping

Origin of tamp²

probably special use of _tamp ¹

Example Sentences

The video was part of a Department of Transportation “civility campaign” that aims to tamp down on in-flight fighting and other “unruly passenger behavior.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And when it came to lower-income consumers in particular, they tried to tamp down Wall Street’s concerns.

Read more on MarketWatch

Plaintiffs’ attorneys have yet to provide direct evidence that state officials asked the Fire Department to tamp back its firefighting.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The pandemic’s temporary supply-chain disruptions, he explained, did nothing to tamp down long-term demand.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

That just so happened to be the month that the Federal Reserve kicked off its campaign of interest-rate hikes to try and tamp down inflation.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• crowd 
• load 
• overcrowd 
• pack 
• ram 
• shove 
• squeeze 
• stuff 
• wedge