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damper

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damp⋅er

  [dam-per]
Use damper in a Sentence
–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 + -er 1
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damp

  [damp] adjective, -er, -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, esp. 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).
—Verb phrase
12. damp off, to undergo damping-off.
Origin:
1300–50; ME (in sense of def. 4); cf. MD damp, MHG dampf vapor, smoke

Related forms:
dampish, adjective
damp⋅ish⋅ly, adverb
damp⋅ish⋅ness, noun
damply, adverb
dampness, noun

Synonyms:
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.

Antonyms:
1. dry.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To damper
damp   (dāmp)   
adj.   damp·er, damp·est

  1. Slightly wet. See Synonyms at wet.

  2. Archaic Dejected.

n.  

  1. Moisture in the air; humidity.

  2. Foul or poisonous gas that sometimes pollutes the air in coal mines.

  3. Lowness of spirits; depression.

  4. A restraint or check; a discouragement.

tr.v.   damped, damp·ing, damps

  1. To make damp or moist; moisten.

  2. To extinguish (a fire, for example) by cutting off air.

  3. To restrain or check; discourage.

  4. Music To slow or stop the vibrations of (the strings of a keyboard instrument) with a damper.

  5. Physics To decrease the amplitude of (an oscillating system).

Phrasal Verb(s):
damp off Botany To be affected by damping off.

[Middle English, poison gas, perhaps from Middle Dutch, vapor.]
damp'ish adj., damp'ly adv., damp'ness n.
damp·er   (dām'pər)   
n.  

  1. One that deadens, restrains, or depresses: Rain put a damper on our picnic plans.

  2. An adjustable plate, as in the flue of a furnace or stove, for controlling the draft.

  3. Music

    1. A device in various keyboard instruments for deadening the vibrations of the strings.

    2. A mute for various brass instruments.

  4. A device that eliminates or progressively diminishes vibrations or oscillations, as of a magnetic needle.

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

damp 
attested from 1316, 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 fig. senses.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: damp
Pronunciation: 'damp
Function: noun
: a noxious or stifling gas or vapor; especially : one occurring in coal mines—usually used in plural; —see BLACK DAMP, FIREDAMP
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

damper

see put a damper on.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Search another word or see damper on Thesaurus | Reference
vibration isolator
Professional vibration isolator ma- nufacturer, Customized products
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Louvers and Dampers
Aluminum louvers and control dampers and fire dampers
www.ventexinc.com
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