damp·er

[dam-per]
noun
1.
a person or thing that damps or depresses: His glum mood put a damper on their party.
2.
a movable plate for regulating the draft in a stove, furnace, etc.
3.
Music.
a.
a device in stringed keyboard instruments to deaden the vibration of the strings.
b.
the mute of a brass instrument, as a horn.
4.
Electricity. an attachment to keep the indicator of a measuring instrument from oscillating excessively, as a set of vanes in a fluid or a short-circuited winding in a magnetic field.
5.
Machinery. a shock absorber.
6.
Australian.
a.
a round, flat cake made of flour and water, and cooked over a campfire.
b.
the dough for such cakes.

Origin:
1740–50; damp + -er1

00:10
Damper is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

damp

[damp] adjective, damp·er, damp·est, noun, verb
adjective
1.
slightly wet; moist: damp weather; a damp towel.
2.
unenthusiastic; dejected; depressed: The welcoming committee gave them a rather damp reception.
noun
3.
moisture; humidity; moist air: damp that goes through your warmest clothes.
4.
a noxious or stifling vapor or gas, especially in a mine.
5.
depression of spirits; dejection.
6.
a restraining or discouraging force or factor.
verb (used with object)
7.
to make damp; moisten.
8.
to check or retard the energy, action, etc., of; deaden; dampen: A series of failures damped her enthusiasm.
9.
to stifle or suffocate; extinguish: to damp a furnace.
10.
Acoustics, Music. to check or retard the action of (a vibrating string); dull; deaden.
11.
Physics. to cause a decrease in amplitude of (successive oscillations or waves).
12.
damp off, to undergo damping-off.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English (in sense of def. 4); compare Middle Dutch damp, Middle High German dampf vapor, smoke

damp·ish, adjective
damp·ish·ly, adverb
damp·ish·ness, noun
damp·ly, adverb
damp·ness, noun

damp, dampen, moist (see synonym study at the current entry).


1. dank, steamy. Damp, humid, moist mean slightly wet. Damp usually implies slight and extraneous wetness, generally undesirable or unpleasant unless the result of intention: a damp cellar; to put a damp cloth on a patient's forehead. Humid is applied to unpleasant dampness in the air: The air is oppressively humid today. Moist denotes something that is slightly wet, naturally or properly: moist ground; moist leather. 3. dankness, dampness, fog, vapor. 7. humidify. 8. slow, inhibit, restrain, moderate, abate.


1. dry.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To damper
Collins
World English Dictionary
damp (dæmp) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  slightly wet, as from dew, steam, etc
2.  archaic dejected
 
n
3.  slight wetness; moisture; humidity
4.  See also firedamp rank air or poisonous gas, esp in a mine
5.  a discouragement; damper
6.  archaic dejection
 
vb
7.  to make slightly wet
8.  (often foll by down) to stifle or deaden: to damp one's ardour
9.  (often foll by down) to reduce the flow of air to (a fire) to make it burn more slowly or to extinguish it
10.  physics to reduce the amplitude of (an oscillation or wave)
11.  music to muffle (the sound of an instrument)
 
[C14: from Middle Low German damp steam; related to Old High German demphen to cause to steam]
 
'dampish
 
adj
 
'damply
 
adv
 
'dampness
 
n

damper (ˈdæmpə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a person, event, or circumstance that depresses or discourages
2.  put a damper on to produce a depressing or inhibiting effect on: the bad news put a damper on the party
3.  a movable plate to regulate the draught in a stove or furnace flue
4.  a device to reduce electronic, mechanical, acoustic, or aerodynamic oscillations in a system
5.  music the pad in a piano or harpsichord that deadens the vibration of each string as its key is released
6.  chiefly (Austral), (NZ) any of various unleavened loaves and scones, typically cooked on an open fire

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

damp
early 14c., probably in O.E., but no record of it. If not, probably from M.L.G. damp; ult. from P.Gmc. *dampaz. Originally "a noxious vapor;" sense of "moisture" is first attested 1706. Damper of a piano is from 1783; of a chimney, 1788; either or both of which led to various figurative senses.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
dAMP
deoxyadenylic acid
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

damper

see put a damper on.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Other times, an afternoon shower can put a damper on the boat trip.
It certainly would put something of a damper, in the end, on the open and free
  nature of the web.
Damper actuators shall be mounted in accordance with manufacturers instructions
  provided with the unit.
Adult safety concerns seem to put a damper on children's physical activity
  levels, say the researchers.
Idioms & Phrases
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