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)

• levee
• embankment

Verb

• block
• obstruct
• flood

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

Noun

Although more expensive and labor-intensive, the practice replaces much of the Central Valley’s roughly 500,000 acres of rice with temporary wetlands during the winter, a semblance of how the land would naturally function without dams, and levees and civilization. —Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2025

Fifteen years ago, Mexican attorney Alma Barraza immersed herself in a legal fight to win fair compensation for indigent villagers who lost their property when the government seized land to build a dam. —Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2025

Verb

The avalanche temporarily dammed the Lonza River, which runs through Blatten, and small lakes, filled with dead trees and detritus from homes, formed on each side of the village. —Daniel A. Gross, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2025

The authors further emphasize that behaviors such as waterfall climbing may be especially vulnerable to environmental pressures, including habitat fragmentation and river damming. —Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 17 Aug. 2025

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

• air dam
• beaver dam
• tinker's dam

Rhymes for dam

• am
• bam
• cham
• clam
• damme
• damn
• dram
• flam
• fram
• gram
• ham
• jam

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