tamp

[tamp]

verb (used with object)

to force in or down by repeated, rather light, strokes: He tamped the tobacco in his pipe.

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

Origin of tamp

First recorded in 1810–20; perhaps alteration of tampion

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

Related Words for tamping

load, lade, throng, crowd, bind, stuff, pile, cram, squeeze, smash, crash, slam, stab, sink, thrust, wedge, shove, ram, pack, overcrowd

Examples from the Web for tamping

Contemporary Examples of tamping

But behind the scenes, senate aides have been tamping down expectations for a quick fix.
Campus Sex Assault Law Could Be ‘Two Years’ Away
Olivia Nuzzi, Tim Mak
July 3, 2014
The lingering financial crisis, the sequester, and ill-timed austerity are tamping down jobs growth.
Robotic Technologies Could Aggravate the U.S. Problem of Slow Jobs Growth
Robert Shapiro
July 19, 2013

Historical Examples of tamping

The view Fig. 52 shows the "perforator" and the tamping apparatus at work.
Concrete Construction
Halbert P. Gillette
In slab work, the concrete is best compacted by tamping or rolling.
Concrete Construction
Halbert P. Gillette
The cost of laying and tamping the concrete on the vaulting was 14 cts.
Concrete Construction
Halbert P. Gillette
He put in the powder and tamping, and asked the other to hand him the tamping-bar.
Deep Down, a Tale of the Cornish Mines
R.M. Ballantyne
"You guessed it," said Russ, tamping the tobacco into the bowl.
Empire
Clifford Donald Simak

British Dictionary definitions for tamping

tamping

tamping mad

adjective

(postpositive) South Wales dialect very angry

Word Origin for tamping

see tamp 1

tamp

verb (tr)

to force or pack down firmly by repeated blows

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

Word Origin for tamp

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

tamp

verb South Wales dialect

(tr) to bounce (a ball)

(intr usually foll by down) to pour with rain

Word Origin for tamp

probably special use of tamp 1

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

Word Origin and History for tamping

tamp

1819, "to fill (a hole containing an explosive) with dirt or clay before blasting," a workmen's word, perhaps a back-formation from tampion, that word being mistaken as a present participle (*tamping).