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DAM

 - 19 dictionary results

dam

1  [dam] noun, verb, dammed, dam⋅ming.
Use DAM in a Sentence
–noun
1. a barrier to obstruct the flow of water, esp. one of earth, masonry, etc., built across a stream or river.
2. a body of water confined by a dam.
3. any barrier resembling a dam.
–verb (used with object)
4. to furnish with a dam; obstruct or confine with a dam.
5. to stop up; block up.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME < MD, MLG, dam; akin to OE for-demman to stop up, block

Synonyms:
5. impede, clog, check, choke.

dam

2  [dam]
–noun
a female parent (used esp. of four-footed domestic animals).
Origin:
1250–1300; ME; var. of dame

Dam

  [dam, dahm]
–noun
(Carl Pe⋅ter) Hen⋅rik  [kahrl pee-ter hen-rik; Dan. kahrl pey-tuhr hen-rik] , 1895–1976, Danish biochemist: Nobel prize for medicine 1943.

dam

 
dekameter; dekameters.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To DAM
dam 1   (dām)   
n.  

    1. A barrier constructed across a waterway to control the flow or raise the level of water.

    2. A body of water controlled by such a barrier.

  2. A barrier against the passage of liquid or loose material, as a rubber sheet used in dentistry to isolate one or more teeth from the rest of the mouth.

  3. An obstruction; a hindrance.

tr.v.   dammed, dam·ming, dams

  1. To hold back or confine by means of a dam.

  2. To close up; obstruct: He tried to dam his grief. See Synonyms at hinder1.


[Middle English.]
dam'mer n.
dam 2   (dām)   
n.  

  1. Abbr. d. A female parent. Used of a four-legged animal.

  2. Archaic A mother.


[Middle English dam, dame, lady, mother; see dame.]
dam 3  
abbr.  decameter
Dam   (dām, däm)   
Danish biochemist. He shared a 1943 Nobel Prize for the discovery of vitamin K.
dec·a·me·ter or dek·a·me·ter   (děk'ə-mē'tər)   
n.   Abbr. dam or dkm
A metric unit of length equal to 10 meters.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

dam  (1)
"water barrier," c.1325, probably from O.N. dammr or M.Du. dam, both from P.Gmc. *dammaz, of unknown origin.

dam  (2)
"animal mother," 1297, variant of dame (q.v.), also originally used, like that word, for "lady, mother;" but meanings diverged into separate spellings by 16c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1dam
Pronunciation: 'dam
Function: noun
: a female parent —used especially of a domestic animal

Main Entry: 2dam
Function: noun
: RUBBER DAM —see DENTAL DAM

Main Entry: dam
Function: abbreviation
dekameter
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

dam (dām)
n.
A barrier against the passage of liquid or loose material, especially a rubber sheet used in dentistry to isolate one or more teeth from the rest of the mouth.

Dam (dām, däm), (Carl Peter) Henrik. 1895-1976.

Danish biochemist. He shared a 1943 Nobel Prize for the discovery of vitamin K.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Idioms & Phrases

dam

see water over the dam.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
dam
decameter
DAM

  1. diacetylmonoxime

  2. divorced Asian male

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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