dam

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈdam 

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

dam

2 of 4

verb

dammed; damming

transitive verb

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

dam

3 of 4

noun (2)

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

the foal's dam

dam

4 of 4

abbreviation

dekameter

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• dike
• embankment
• head
• levee

Verb

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

Examples of dam in a Sentence

Verb

ice floes were damming the river

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As of Saturday morning, the level of the Ural river was nearly double the level the dam was designed to handle, according to regional authorities. —Radina Gigova, CNN, 6 Apr. 2024

During a press conference in Sacramento, the governor highlighted international climate diplomacy and commitments to water infrastructure streamlining, as well as dam removal on the Klamath River. —Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 1 Apr. 2024

River anglers will find success drifting the lure to and around wing dams. —David A. Rose, Field & Stream, 20 Mar. 2024

Politically, the project has a big advantage over many traditional dams. —Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024

That doesn’t make dams nearly as bad for the climate as fossil fuels are. —Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024

The dams would have displaced tens of thousands of people, including indigenous communities. —Jeff Opperman, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s blast, which comes nearly three years after a bus explosion killed 13 people including nine Chinese workers on their way to the dam in another unclaimed attack on the project. —Sophia Saifi, CNN, 27 Mar. 2024

Water was rushing through a tunnel at the base of the dam. —Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024

Verb

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

The plan brokered by the Biden administration pauses long-running litigation over federal dam operations and represents the most significant step yet toward eventually taking the four Snake River dams down. —Matthew Daly, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2024

The country will need to dam even more rivers to guarantee water through the end of the century. —Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 10 Jan. 2024

An Ancient Lake About 16 million years ago, a lava flow in what would one day become Clarkia, Idaho, dammed a local drainage system and created a deep lake in a narrow, steep-sided valley. —Robert Patalano, Discover Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Verb

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

Noun (2)

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

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing dam

• tinker's dam
• air dam
• beaver dam

Kids Definition

dam

1 of 3 noun

ˈdam 

: the female parent especially of a domestic animal

dam

2 of 3 noun

1

: 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

ˈdam 

: 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

Dam

biographical name

ˈdam 

ˈdäm

(Carl Peter) Henrik 1895–1976 Danish biochemist