Dam definition |Dictionary.com

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.
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.
An obstruction; a hindrance.

tr.v. dammed, dam·ming, dams

To hold back or confine by means of a dam.
To close up; obstruct: He tried to dam his grief. See Synonyms at hinder¹.

[Middle English.]

dam'mer n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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dam² (dām) Pronunciation Key
n.

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

[Middle English dam, dame, lady, mother; see dame.]

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dam³
abbr. decameter

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Dam (dām, däm) Pronunciation Key
Danish biochemist. He shared a 1943 Nobel Prize for the discovery of vitamin K.

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dec·a·me·ter or dek·a·me·ter (děk'ə-mē'tər) Pronunciation Key
n. Abbr. dam or dkm
A metric unit of length equal to 10 meters.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
dam (1)

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

dam
noun
1.	a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water or to keep out the sea
2.	a metric unit of length equal to ten meters [syn: decameter]
3.	female parent of an animal especially domestic livestock
verb
1.	obstruct with, or as if with, a dam; "dam the gorges of the Yangtse River"

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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

dam

see water over the dam.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

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

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

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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Beaver Dam, KY (city, FIPS 4654) Location: 37.40854 N, 86.87796 W
Population (1990): 2904 (1297 housing units)
Area: 5.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 42320

Parker Dam, CA Zip code(s): 92267

Navajo Dam, NM Zip code(s): 87419

Natural Dam, AR Zip code(s): 72948

Fontana Dam, NC Zip code(s): 28733

Federal Dam, MN (city, FIPS 20798) Location: 47.23848 N, 94.21884 W
Population (1990): 118 (96 housing units)
Area: 4.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 56641

Coulee Dam, WA (town, FIPS 15115) Location: 47.96874 N, 118.97445 W
Population (1990): 1087 (528 housing units)
Area: 1.8 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 99116

Conchas Dam, NM Zip code(s): 88416

Buchanan Dam, TX (CDP, FIPS 10984) Location: 30.79914 N, 98.43833 W
Population (1990): 1099 (995 housing units)
Area: 19.7 sq km (land), 32.5 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 78609

Beaver Dam, WI (city, FIPS 5900) Location: 43.46400 N, 88.83716 W
Population (1990): 14196 (5997 housing units)
Area: 12.3 sq km (land), 3.5 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 53916

Shamokin Dam, PA (borough, FIPS 69616) Location: 40.85313 N, 76.82246 W
Population (1990): 1690 (754 housing units)
Area: 4.7 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water)

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Dam

Dam\, n. [OE. dame mistress, lady; also, mother, dam. See Dame.]

1. A female parent; -- used of beasts, especially of quadrupeds; sometimes applied in contempt to a human mother.

Our sire and dam, now confined to horses, are a relic of this age (13th century) . . . .Dame is used of a hen; we now make a great difference between dame and dam. --T. L. K. Oliphant.

The dam runs lowing up end down, Looking the way her harmless young one went. --Shak.

2. A kind or crowned piece in the game of draughts.

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Dam

Dam\, n. [Akin to OLG., D., & Dan. dam, G. & Sw. damm, Icel. dammr, and AS. fordemman to stop up, Goth. Fa['u]rdammjan.]

1. A barrier to prevent the flow of a liquid; esp., a bank of earth, or wall of any kind, as of masonry or wood, built across a water course, to confine and keep back flowing water.

2. (Metal.) A firebrick wall, or a stone, which forms the front of the hearth of a blast furnace.

Dam plate (Blast Furnace), an iron plate in front of the dam, to strengthen it.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Dam

Dam\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dammed; p. pr. & vb. n. Damming.]

1. To obstruct or restrain the flow of, by a dam; to confine by constructing a dam, as a stream of water; -- generally used with in or up.

I'll have the current in this place dammed up. --Shak.

A weight of earth that dams in the water. --Mortimer.

2. To shut up; to stop up; to close; to restrain.

The strait pass was dammed With dead men hurt behind, and cowards. --Shak.

To dam out, to keep out by means of a dam.