tamp
Americanverb (used with object)
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tamps,
present (3rd person singular)
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tamped,
past participle, past
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tamping
present participle
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to force in or down by repeated, rather light, strokes.
He tamped the tobacco in his pipe.
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(in blasting) to fill (a drilled hole) with earth or the like after the charge has been inserted.
verb
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to force or pack down firmly by repeated blows
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to pack sand, earth, etc into (a drill hole) over an explosive
verb
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(tr) to bounce (a ball)
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to pour with rain
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tampsimple
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tampssimple
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have tampedperfect
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has tampedperfect
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am tampingprogressive
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are tampingprogressive
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is tampingprogressive
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have been tampingperfect progressive
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has been tampingperfect progressive
Past
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tampedsimple
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had tampedperfect
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was tampingprogressive
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were tampingprogressive
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had been tampingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tamp
First recorded in 1810–20; perhaps alteration of tampion
Explanation
To tamp is to push or pack down a loose or granular material. If you work as a barista, you'll learn to tamp espresso grounds before running hot water through them. Before a road is paved or a patio is laid out, workers will tamp gravel to provide a sturdy, level base. Old-fashioned, muzzle-loading guns had to be filled with gunpowder, which the user would need to tamp firmly before firing. The tool used to do the tamping is sometimes also called a tamp.
Vocabulary lists containing tamp
The Birchbark House
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The Odyssey
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Prairie Lotus
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
While higher rates might tamp down inflation, they could also slow the economy.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
When they have been effective, they have managed to ride the choppier waves while also smoothing relations with the media - providing context for inquisitive journalists and helping tamp down any simmering issues.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
“I still don’t know which,” he said, setting out to clear the seaweed and tamp down the sand at the world’s only cricket club to play all its home matches on the beach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
As the search continued for the 86 people presumed missing, coast guard, military personnel and local responders were working to tamp down the thick smoke billowing from the ferry.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
But he is just trying to tamp down expectations, and everyone knows it.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
As the lack of workforce tamps down business growth, fewer U.S.-born workers are hired as a result.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
“Seeing all the results tamps down their unrealistic expectations,” he said, as they conclude for themselves that they need to rethink their retirement timetable.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2025
“I wasn’t on the side of the infringers. I just thought that copyright is too rigid, it lasts too long, it tamps down creativity.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2024
Before he steps in the box for each at-bat, Kelenic takes the end of his Victus bat and tamps a small indentation out in front of the center of the plate.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 23, 2023
Then he pours in a basketful of ashes and tamps them with the large rammer; then again and again he pours in ashes and tamps them with the rammer.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Georgius Agricola
A mission in southern Iraq had tamped down tribal warfare and insurgency without bloodshed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, for his part, has emphasized that inflation must be tamped down, but he has declined to specify how exactly the central bank is likely to handle stubborn price increases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Redfin’s weekly data suggest that last week’s surge in rates tamped down on demand.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
Vance tamped down expectations before leaving Washington on Friday morning.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
The ground had been turned and tamped to make a nice yard for the mutts house, which sat in the center of her plot like a grand mansion in the heart of a plantation.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Cardinals can surprise you — just ask the Rams — but Denver does a good job of tamping down opposing quarterbacks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Most of the bypassed oil went through the East-West pipeline, which played a bigger role in tamping down crude prices than the IEA’s emergency stock release, or the collapse in Chinese oil demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
In its obituary, the William F. Buckley-founded National Review praised the former secretary of state as a man who spent his life tamping down turmoil.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
That can work its way into the housing market by shrinking buyers’ budgets and tamping down on home-price growth.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
Dr. Stillman removes something else from the coffin—the tamping iron that Phineas carried everywhere, even to his grave.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
