Synonyms of dams

dams 1 of 2

noun

plural of dam

as in levees

a bank of earth constructed to control water

the river backed up behind the dam until it formed a new lake

Synonyms & Similar Words

• levees
• embankments
• canals
• dikes
• ramparts
• barriers
• weirs
• ditches
• locks
• heads
• barricades
• breakwaters
• gutters
• seawalls
• jetties
• channels
• blocks
• earthworks
• troughs
• sluices
• bulwarks
• breastworks
• barrages
• floodgates
• milldams
• stanks

dams

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of dam

1

as in blocks

to prevent passage through by filling with something

ice floes were damming the river

Synonyms & Similar Words

• blocks
• obstructs
• floods
• jams
• congests
• clogs
• stuffs
• fills
• occludes
• clots
• stops (up)
• plugs (up)
• chokes
• gums (up)
• corks
• packs
• silts
• furs
• spiles
• swamps
• stopples
• stoppers
• overwhelms
• inundates
• gridlocks
• bungs
• gluts

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unblocks
• frees
• opens (up)
• clears
• unplugs
• excavates
• scoops (out)
• unclogs
• hollows (out)
• empties
• unstops
• lightens

2

as in fills

to close up so that no empty spaces remain

dam up the pipes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fills
• plugs
• packs
• blocks
• seals
• stuffs
• clogs
• bungs
• congests
• stops
• caulks
• jams
• clots
• occludes
• closes (off)
• obstructs
• chinks
• chokes
• restuffs
• repacks

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• scoops (out)
• excavates
• shovels
• hollows (out)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of dams

Noun

A matter of climate and security Relocating populations to make way for dams is far from unprecedented in the region — though the practice often proves controversial. — Hira Humayun, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026

Products like inflatable dams, flood barriers that attach to doors more like dog gates or even good ol’ fashioned waterproofing tapes and foams are generally fine to install. — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026

Three dams along the Boardman River were taken out to reconnect coldwater streams and restore fish habitat. — CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

Its leading export is electricity, produced by hydropower dams. — Grant Peck, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026

Public Works is preparing for 24-hour operations, monitoring low-water crossings, dams, roadways, debris and traffic signals while staging barricades for potential road closures. — Jacob Beltran, San Antonio Express-News, 30 Sep. 2026

Reuters reported in 2025 that China and India, the world's most populous countries, have built 68 major dams in the Himalayas and another 101 are in the pipeline. — Mamita Bhandari, NPR, 23 Sep. 2026

Much of the Sacramento Valley depends on a network of levees, dams and bypasses to handle both large volumes of rainwater and extra releases from the many reservoirs in the mountains and foothills. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Old levees and dams, for example, can leave a community vulnerable to catastrophic flooding, as the Seattle area saw in December 2025 when flooding from heavy rainfall broke levees in multiple communities. — Bethany Tietjen, The Conversation, 21 Sep. 2026

Verb

Then dams and expanding farmlands dried it up and turned it into a patchwork of fields, roads and towns. — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026

Mormon Flat, which dams Canyon Lake, was constructed in 1925, and is one of SRP’s oldest dams. — Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 18 Sep. 2026

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asked experts to study what happened at the Edenville and Sanford dams. — ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026

Glacial outburst floods happen when the ice dams holding back glacial lakes fail, allowing a sudden release of water. — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2025