as in levee
a bank of earth constructed to control water
the river backed up behind the dam until it formed a new lake
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in to block
to prevent passage through by filling with something
ice floes were damming the river
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dam
Natasha Bracken, semafor.com, 28 Apr. 2026
That’s in part because of threats not only to water infrastructure, including dams and reservoirs, but also to desalination facilities, which millions in the broader region depend on for their drinking water.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 28 Apr. 2026
Dan McGrath, The Conversation, 9 Mar. 2026
Plants can regenerate, since the beavers have dammed up the water to keep some for their little ecosystem.
—Katie Grant, Parents, 4 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dam
Noun
The plant will feed on renewable power from Paraguay’s vast Itaipu dam to produce hydrogen by splitting water through electrolysis, which is then combined with nitrogen to create zero-carbon ammonia.
—Natasha Bracken, semafor.com, 28 Apr. 2026
That’s in part because of threats not only to water infrastructure, including dams and reservoirs, but also to desalination facilities, which millions in the broader region depend on for their drinking water.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 28 Apr. 2026
Verb
Tenuously held back by moraines – the jumble of rock and sediment deposited by glaciers at their edges – or dammed by glacier ice, these lakes are anything but stable.
—Dan McGrath, The Conversation, 9 Mar. 2026
Plants can regenerate, since the beavers have dammed up the water to keep some for their little ecosystem.
—Katie Grant, Parents, 4 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dam
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dam
Noun
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In April, officials noticed new damage to the levee.—
John Ryan,
NPR,
3 May 2026
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Dollison served on the Internal Improvements Committee and introduced a bill to create a levee district in Clay and Greene counties.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Those bubbles would block blood vessels, stretch and tear tissue, and trigger clotting and inflammation.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
8 May 2026
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The District of Columbia Council voted to decouple from several provisions of the OBBBA, but Congress passed a resolution to block that move.—
Hayley Cuccinello,
CNBC,
8 May 2026
Verb
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As officers chased him through a busy crosswalk filled with pedestrians, Marx turned and fired in the direction of a Secret Service officer, documents say.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
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In a special Senate primary to fill the seat vacated when Vice President JD Vance was inaugurated, Sherrod Brown won the Democratic primary, and Republican John Husted, who was appointed to Vance's seat, ran uncontested for the GOP nomination.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
6 May 2026
Noun
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In the footage, a rescuer is seen using a rope to reach the man by scaling down the side of the embankment, which dips hundreds of feet below the High Steel Bridge in northwestern Washington's Mason County.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
3 May 2026
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The baby did not survive outside the womb and was disposed of in a dumpster, Cortney told investigators, while Rebecca passed away moments after being cut open and was pushed down an embankment and covered with leaves.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Maden and Algerio charged Brown with resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.—
Sheetal Banchariya,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2026
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The Justice Department charged Comey with making false statements and obstructing justice in connection with his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020.—
Carrie Johnson,
NPR,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Former First Lady Laura Bush is credited with putting these delicious cookies—packed with oats, coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips—on the map.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
6 May 2026
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Douglas Tollefsen, one of the five defendants facing murder charges, is said to have tested fireworks inside the warehouse — packed with explosives — months before the blast according to Berry and other sources.—
Joe Rubin,
Sacbee.com,
6 May 2026
Verb
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During the pandemic, the Fed launched massive bond-buying programs, cut rates to zero, and promised to keep them there, flooding the economy with cash and stoking inflation.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
3 May 2026
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If occupancy was falling, there could be concern for flooding the market with too many rentals.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
3 May 2026
Verb
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Williams, who’ll be 38 this season, agreed to a two-year, $50 million extension just days ahead of the draft, easing the 49ers’ burden of finding a plug-and-play replacement.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
8 May 2026
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Mythos is not publicly available, but comparably cyber-capable Chinese open-source models will be soon, and hackers will be able to find any holes not plugged by then.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dam.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dam. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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