1
a
: a barrier preventing the flow of water or of loose solid materials (such as soil or snow)
a beaver dam
an ice dam
especially, civil engineering
: a barrier built across a watercourse for impounding (see impound sense 2) water
b
: a barrier to check the flow of liquid, gas, or air
2
: a body of water confined by a barrier
dammed; damming
1
: to provide or restrain with a barrier that prevents the flow of water : to provide or restrain with a dam (see dam entry 1 sense 1a)
dam a river
2
: to stop up : block
damming up their emotions
zoology
: the female parent of an animal and especially of a domestic animal
the foal's dam
dekameter
Synonyms
Examples of dam in a Sentence
Noun (1)
the river backed up behind the dam until it formed a new lake
Verb
ice floes were damming the river
Recent Examples on the Web
Anders Hagstrom, Fox News, 19 May 2024
Arizona authorities searched the dam just below it in October 2023.
—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 18 May 2024
How removing the dams will change the landscape Tribes and environmentalists had fought for decades for removal of the dams as part of a basin-wide restoration effort.
—Debra Utacia Krol, USA TODAY, 12 May 2024
Some of the money has gone toward raising dams and increasing the capacity of spreading grounds, where water is sent into basins and then percolates underground into aquifers.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2024
The Santa Clara Valley Water District, which is overseeing the project, says work to tear down the old dam and rebuild a new one will begin in 2026, with completion scheduled for 2032.
—Shae Hammond, The Mercury News, 10 May 2024
The three dams operated by Consumers on the Muskegon River are the Hardy, Rogers, and Croton dams.
—Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press, 10 May 2024
The goal was to assess how much benefit the property received from the dams and levees.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 4 May 2024
Currently, the water temperature in the American River is 52 degrees underneath the dam, Rowe said.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 8 May 2024
Randy Mason, Kansas City Star, 8 May 2024
Over the last 100 years, rivers across the Central Valley were dammed to provide irrigation for farms, blocking salmon from their natural habitats.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Half a century later, just as Silver Dollar City opened and the Army Corps of Engineers dammed the White River to create miles of prime boating and fishing waters, a play based on Wright’s novel, running to this day, debuted.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024
Beavers can help prevent wildfire damage in certain types of California landscapes, by damming creeks to slow the flow of water, spreading moisture through floodplains and felling trees.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
The sites, spanning in age from 1559 to the early 1900s, include early ports and settlements as well as seven shipwrecks explored through damming, dredging, and diving.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2024
Why Seattle dammed the Skagit River Between 1890 and 1910, Skagit County’s population increased by 234 percent, while King County’s (50 miles south of the former logjam and home to Seattle) grew by 345 percent.
—Adam M. Sowards, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 May 2023
By the early 1980s, after the river had been dammed to create a spectacular lake with many tendrils of waterways, the location—midway between Atlanta and Augusta—proved the perfect place to lay down permanent roots.
—Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2024
At the same time, in the late 19th and early 20th century, the Gila River Indian Community, which has relied on its eponymous river for farming for millennia, was thrust into crisis and famine when the river was dammed upstream.
—Arlyssa D. Becenti, The Arizona Republic, 1 Mar. 2024
Noun
The dam is the third one that the two nations built on the Aras River.
—Anders Hagstrom, Fox News, 19 May 2024
Arizona authorities searched the dam just below it in October 2023.
—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 18 May 2024
How removing the dams will change the landscape Tribes and environmentalists had fought for decades for removal of the dams as part of a basin-wide restoration effort.
—Debra Utacia Krol, USA TODAY, 12 May 2024
Some of the money has gone toward raising dams and increasing the capacity of spreading grounds, where water is sent into basins and then percolates underground into aquifers.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2024
The Santa Clara Valley Water District, which is overseeing the project, says work to tear down the old dam and rebuild a new one will begin in 2026, with completion scheduled for 2032.
—Shae Hammond, The Mercury News, 10 May 2024
The three dams operated by Consumers on the Muskegon River are the Hardy, Rogers, and Croton dams.
—Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press, 10 May 2024
The goal was to assess how much benefit the property received from the dams and levees.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 4 May 2024
Currently, the water temperature in the American River is 52 degrees underneath the dam, Rowe said.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 8 May 2024
Verb
Finally, after Congress allocated funds in the 1960s, the river was dammed to create Smithville Lake.
—Randy Mason, Kansas City Star, 8 May 2024
Over the last 100 years, rivers across the Central Valley were dammed to provide irrigation for farms, blocking salmon from their natural habitats.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Half a century later, just as Silver Dollar City opened and the Army Corps of Engineers dammed the White River to create miles of prime boating and fishing waters, a play based on Wright’s novel, running to this day, debuted.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024
Beavers can help prevent wildfire damage in certain types of California landscapes, by damming creeks to slow the flow of water, spreading moisture through floodplains and felling trees.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
The sites, spanning in age from 1559 to the early 1900s, include early ports and settlements as well as seven shipwrecks explored through damming, dredging, and diving.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2024
Why Seattle dammed the Skagit River Between 1890 and 1910, Skagit County’s population increased by 234 percent, while King County’s (50 miles south of the former logjam and home to Seattle) grew by 345 percent.
—Adam M. Sowards, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 May 2023
By the early 1980s, after the river had been dammed to create a spectacular lake with many tendrils of waterways, the location—midway between Atlanta and Augusta—proved the perfect place to lay down permanent roots.
—Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2024
At the same time, in the late 19th and early 20th century, the Gila River Indian Community, which has relied on its eponymous river for farming for millennia, was thrust into crisis and famine when the river was dammed upstream.
—Arlyssa D. Becenti, The Arizona Republic, 1 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dam.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dam
Cite this Entry
“Dam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dam. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dam
1 of 3 noun
: the female parent especially of a domestic animal
dam
2 of 3 noun1
: a barrier preventing the flow of water
2
: a body of water held back by a dam
dam
3 of 3 verb
dammed; damming
1
: to provide or restrain with a dam
dam a stream
2
: to stop up : block
dammed-up feelings
Etymology
Noun
Middle English dam, dame "lady, female parent"
Noun
Middle English dam "barrier to hold back water"
Medical Definition
dam
1 of 3 noun
: a female parent
—used especially of a domestic animal
dam
2 of 3 noun
: rubber dam see dental dam
dam
3 of 3 abbreviation
dekameter
Biographical Definition
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