dam

¹dam

noun \ˈdam\

Definition of DAM

: the female parent of an animal and especially of a domestic animal

Origin of DAM

Middle English dam, dame lady, dam — more at dame

First Known Use: 13th century

Rhymes with DAM

bam, cam, clam, cram, damn, drachm, dram, DRAM, flam, gam, gram, ham, Ham, jam, jamb, lam, lamb, ma'am, pram, ram, RAM, Sam, SAM, scam, scram, sham, slam, spam, tam, tram, wham, yam

²dam

noun

Definition of DAM

1

: a body of water confined by a barrier

2

a : a barrier preventing the flow of water or of loose solid materials (as soil or snow); especially : a barrier built across a watercourse for impounding water

b : a barrier to check the flow of liquid, gas, or air

Origin of DAM

Middle English, probably from Middle Dutch; akin to Old English fordemman to stop up

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Civil Engineering Terms

asphalt, ballast, barrage, cantilever, infrastructure, sluice

³dam

transitive verb

dammeddam·ming

Definition of DAM

1

: to provide or restrain with a dam <dam a river>

2

: to stop up : block <damming up their emotions>

Examples of DAM

1. <ice floes were damming the river>

First Known Use of DAM

15th century

Related to DAM

Synonyms

block, choke, clot, congest, clog, gum (up), jam, obstruct, occlude, plug (up), stop (up), stuff

Antonyms

clear, free, open (up), unblock, unclog, unplug, unstop

Related Words

bung, cork, spile, stopper, stopple; fill, gridlock, pack; fur, silt; flood, glut, inundate, overwhelm, swamp

Near Antonyms

excavate, hollow (out), scoop (out); empty, lighten

Other Civil Engineering Terms

asphalt, ballast, barrage, cantilever, infrastructure, sluice

⁴dam

abbreviation

Definition of DAM

dekameter

Dam

biographical name \ˈdam, ˈdäm\

Definition of DAM

(Carl Peter) Henrik 1895–1976 Dan. biochem.

dam

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Barrier built across a stream, river, or estuary to conserve water for such uses as human consumption, irrigation, flood control, and electric-power generation. The earliest recorded dam is believed to be a masonry structure 49 ft (15 m) high built across the Nile River in Egypt c. 2900 BC. Modern dams are generally built of earth fill, rock fill, masonry, or monolithic concrete. Earth-fill (or embankment) dams, such as Egypt's Aswan High Dam, are usually used across broad rivers to retain water. The profile of an earth-fill dam is a broad-based triangle. Concrete dams may take various forms. The gravity dam uses its own dead weight to resist the horizontal force of the water. Concrete-buttress dams reduce material in the wall itself by using support buttresses around the outside base. An arch dam, such as Hoover Dam, is built in a convex arch facing the reservoir, and owes its strength essentially to its shape, which is particularly efficient in transferring hydraulic forces to supports.