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

Some declined to comment without seeing more, but his colleagues were clearly unsettled — and the incident offered Democrats the chance to spotlight the military deployments that President Donald Trump has ordered in Los Angeles to tamp down protests against immigration raids. —David Weigel, semafor.com, 12 June 2025

Then-President George H.W. Bush last used it to tamp down violence in Los Angeles after a jury acquitted police officers in the beating of motorist Rodney King. —Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 10 June 2025

Noun

The concern is how to reduce emissions and tamp down on temperature rises. —Ken Silverstein, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025

But for now, the levies are helping tamp down inflation by raising global recession fears and crimping Americans’ finances and spending, at least for some services, said Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist of Oxford Economics. —Paul Davidson, USA Today, 13 May 2025

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

Rhymes for tamp

• amp
• champ
• clamp
• cramp
• damp
• gamp
• lamp
• ramp
• samp
• scamp
• stamp
• tramp

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