damper

noun

damp·​er ˈdam-pər 

1

: a dulling or deadening influence

put a damper on the celebration

2

: a device that damps: such as

a

: a valve or plate (as in the flue of a furnace) for regulating the draft

b

: a small felted block to stop the vibration of a piano string

c

chiefly British : shock absorber

3

Australia : a simple usually unleavened bread of a kind made originally in the Australian bush

Synonyms of damper

• mute

Examples of damper in a Sentence

the pianist used the damper pedal on the piano for the quiet passages

Recent Examples on the Web

The thought of having dinner together every night and being subjected to this is going to put a distinct damper on what is a rare vacation for my husband and me. — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026

The damper rods are from an Opel Omega, with the springs from Hagon. — New Atlas, 5 Aug. 2026

The adaptive dampers still do a fairly good job of smoothing out the ride on Colorado’s concrete highways, and the Corvette’s other charms remain intact. — Tim Stevens, ArsTechnica, 4 Aug. 2026

While the car transmits every ripple in the road, its trick Multimatic dampers round off imperfections beautifully, so the chassis never feels discombobulated. — Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 22 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1707, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing damper

• put a damper on

Rhymes for damper

• camper
• hamper
• pamper
• scamper
• stamper
• tamper

Kids Definition

damper

noun

damp·​er ˈdam-pər 

: one that damps : as

a

: a valve or plate (as in the flue of a furnace) for regulating the draft

b

: a device (as one of the felt-covered pieces of wood in a piano) used to deaden vibrations or oscillations

c

: a dulling or deadening influence

put a damper on the celebration