1
as in blocking
to prevent passage through by filling with something
ice floes were damming the river
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in filling
to close up so that no empty spaces remain
dam up the pipes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of damming
The nine-hole golf course opened in 1908, the same year the city’s first outdoor swimming pool at the park was created by damming up Tyler Creek.
—
Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 26 May 2026
Responders are establishing diking and damming measures to divert the potential fluid down a grade into a commercial holding area.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026
Then, about 20,000 years ago the Laurentide continental glacier moved into the area, pushing rocks, soil, and other debris, eventually damming Pine Creek and forming an expansive lake.
—Anthony Fredericks, Travel + Leisure, 12 Apr. 2026
As these boar and beavers escape, digging up his neighbor’s fields and damming his streams, the two farmers begin to butt heads.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 2 Mar. 2026
Designed for a valley miles away from the Sacramento River, the reservoir would pump water through an underground pipe connecting to the river, rather than damming and trapping its water supply.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 17 Jan. 2026
The more Austinites have expanded the surface area of lakes — by damming up the Colorado River with various degrees of success from 1893 to 1960 — the more moisture was available to evaporate into the air.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 4 Jan. 2026
But a combination of river damming, habitat destruction, overfishing and pollution has caused numbers of the southern residents’ preferred prey, Chinook salmon, to plummet since the 1980s.
—Kelso Harper, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025
On the tower’s other side, boundless flats of sand and cracked mud spread to the horizon across what was, prior to the river’s damming a century ago, one of Earth’s great green estuaries.
—Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 26 May 2026
Responders are establishing diking and damming measures to divert the potential fluid down a grade into a commercial holding area.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026
Then, about 20,000 years ago the Laurentide continental glacier moved into the area, pushing rocks, soil, and other debris, eventually damming Pine Creek and forming an expansive lake.
—Anthony Fredericks, Travel + Leisure, 12 Apr. 2026
As these boar and beavers escape, digging up his neighbor’s fields and damming his streams, the two farmers begin to butt heads.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 2 Mar. 2026
Designed for a valley miles away from the Sacramento River, the reservoir would pump water through an underground pipe connecting to the river, rather than damming and trapping its water supply.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 17 Jan. 2026
The more Austinites have expanded the surface area of lakes — by damming up the Colorado River with various degrees of success from 1893 to 1960 — the more moisture was available to evaporate into the air.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 4 Jan. 2026
But a combination of river damming, habitat destruction, overfishing and pollution has caused numbers of the southern residents’ preferred prey, Chinook salmon, to plummet since the 1980s.
—Kelso Harper, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025
On the tower’s other side, boundless flats of sand and cracked mud spread to the horizon across what was, prior to the river’s damming a century ago, one of Earth’s great green estuaries.
—Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for damming
Verb
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The additions of Kadyn Proctor along the offensive line and blocking tight end Will Kacmarek almost certainly affirmed that.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2026
-
Over the following hours, the moon will pass directly in front of the red supergiant star, briefly blocking its light in an event that astronomers refer to as an occultation, according to the astronomy website In-the-Sky.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Finally, allow the solution to come to room temperature before filling your feeders.—
Rita Pelczar,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 May 2026
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Such scandals have put the spotlight on a murky (and growing) world of speculative, 24/7 transactions now filling the internet.—
Wyatte Grantham-Philips,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
Verb
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The decision comes a year after 23-year-old Samson Allen appealed his guilty verdict of resisting and obstructing police.—
Rose Evans
Updated May 29,
Idaho Statesman,
29 May 2026
-
Comey was first indicted last September by a federal grand jury in Virginia on one count of making a false statement and one count of obstructing a congressional proceeding in connection with his testimony before a Senate committee in September 2020.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Tight end Walker Lyons, a transfer from USC, is an intriguing addition, and the Cougars did a good job of plugging holes on the O-line.—
Sam Khan Jr,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
French maintained a tight lead against incumbent Jim Wright, a fifth-generation rancher running for his second term whose primary campaign priorities included reducing red tape for new oil production, plugging orphan wells, and defending landowner rights.—
Emily Holshouser
May 27,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 May 2026
Verb
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The historic estate is a rare survivor from Loomis’ early ties to fruit orchards and packing after first being settled by gold miners.—
David Caraccio,
Sacbee.com,
30 May 2026
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For decades, the industry boosted performance by making transistors smaller and packing more of them onto a chip.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Damming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/damming. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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