dam

/dæm/

/dæm/

Other forms: dams; dammed; damming

A barrier built to block the flow of water is called a dam. If you walk along a stream, you can see where beavers have built a dam out of mud and logs.

As a verb, dam means to obstruct or blockade as with a dam. If the kids you're babysitting dam up the bathtub drain when you're not paying attention, the water might overflow and cause a waterfall into the living room downstairs. But water isn't the only thing that can be dammed. You shouldn't dam up your emotions — go ahead and scream if you need to.

Definitions of dam

1. noun

   a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water or to keep out the sea
   synonyms: dike, dyke

   examples:

   Aswan High Dam

   one of the world's largest dams on the Nile River in southern Egypt

   Glen Canyon Dam

   a large dam built in 1964 on the Colorado River in Arizona

   Hoover Dam

   a large dam built in 1933 on the Colorado River in Nevada

   types:

   milldam

   dam to make a millpond to provide power for a water mill

   weir

   a low dam built across a stream to raise its level or divert its flow

   type of:

   barrier

   a structure or object that impedes free movement
2. verb

   obstruct with, or as if with, a dam
   “dam the gorges of the Yangtse River”

   synonyms: dam up

   type of:

   block, close up, impede, jam, obstruct, obturate, occlude

   block passage through
3. noun

   a metric unit of length equal to ten meters
   synonyms: decameter, decametre, dekameter, dekametre, dkm

   type of:

   metric linear unit

   a linear unit of distance in metric terms
4. noun

   female parent of an animal especially domestic livestock
   type of:

   female

   an animal that produces gametes (ova) that can be fertilized by male gametes (spermatozoa)