tamp

1 of 2

verb

ˈtamp 

tamped; tamping; tamps

transitive verb

1

: to drive in or down by a succession of light or medium blows

tamp wet concrete

2

: to put a check on : reduce, lessen

tamp down rumors

tamp

2 of 2

noun

plural tamps

: a tool for tamping : tamper entry 2

Fill the form half full with fresh, undisturbed snow, firmly packing it down using the cutout can bottom as a tamp; tamp around the inside edges as you go.

—James Boone

Examples of tamp in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Hollywood is struggling to tamp down runaway production costs and also trying to figure out how to make streaming profitable. —Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Oct. 2023

And strikingly, these high prices didn’t tamp down demand, says D’Arpizio. —Hillary Hoffower, Fortune, 2 Nov. 2023

Ray Sasaki, director of gas acquisition at SoCalGas, said the chance of a price surge is tamped down because natural gas prices are low right now and production has picked up, leading to higher storage inventories. —Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2023

Ahead of any potential retaliatory moves, the U.S. has also sought to tamp down fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spiral out in the Middle East -- in the kind of escalation not seen there in decades. —Luis Martinez, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2023

Kwame’s pre-wedding jitters are tamped down by big sister Barbara, leaving the happy couple to run into a sunset filled with pink kitchen gadgets and Rocky the dog. —Charlotte Walsh, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2023

As officials tamped down on shouting attendees, one man was ejected, according to the outlet. —Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 26 Sep. 2023

The Indian government says the blackouts tamp down unrest, but others say the measures ensure the government commands the public narrative, with evidence of human rights abuses becoming harder to disseminate. —David Meyer, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2023

After clearing diseased material and pulling weeds, mulch the soil to tamp down any remaining seeds or disease spores. —Karen Hugg, Washington Post, 28 Sep. 2023

Noun

It’s not known exactly how much an anti-inflammatory diet tamps down inflammation nor how much of certain food items someone should eat to see the benefits, Sharma said. —Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 18 Oct. 2023

But national unemployment, and perhaps local, will fluctuate and move upward in the coming months as the Fed tamp down on inflation takes effect. —Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2023

Countertop espresso perfector For those who already have an at-home espresso machine and grinder, a tamp station and knock box are an ideal complement. —Juliet Izon, wsj.com, 26 Sep. 2023

The goal is to gather enough evidence to demonstrate that a cortico-striatal loop is indeed the culprit of stuck thinking, and that jamming its synchronizing activity tamps down its effects. —IEEE Spectrum, 18 Apr. 2019

Then, fill the frame with concrete or gravel and tamp or screed it to the leveled edges. —Rena Behar, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 June 2023

A lot of machines come with a plastic tamp, but few come with a proper distributor and tamp. —Jaina Grey Jeffrey Van Camp, WIRED, 22 Dec. 2022

This complex spit prevents clotting and tamps down the victim’s immune response. —John Sass, Field & Stream, 11 Apr. 2023

Backfill the soil and tamp down. —Arricca Elin Sansone, Country Living, 20 Mar. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Verb

probably back-formation from obsolete tampion, tampin plug, from Middle English, from Middle French tapon, tampon, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German zapho tap — more at tap entry 3

First Known Use

Verb

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1920, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

tamp

verb

ˈtamp

1

: to drive in or down by a series of blows

2

: to put a check on : lessen

tamp down rumors

tamper noun