[dam-ping-awf, -of] 
| a disease of seedlings, occurring either before or immediately after emerging from the soil, characterized by rotting of the stem at soil level and eventual collapse of the plant, caused by any of several soil fungi. |
[damp] adjective, -er, -est, noun, verb | 1. | slightly wet; moist: damp weather; a damp towel. |
| 2. | unenthusiastic; dejected; depressed: The welcoming committee gave them a rather damp reception. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| damping off n. A disease of seedlings that is caused by fungi and results in wilting and death. |
| damping off
Any of various diseases of seedlings that are caused by oomycetes, especially of the genus Pythium, and result in wilting and death. |