English Explanatory Dictionary

damp

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. In a state between dry and wet; moderately wet; moist.
  2. Despondent; dispirited, downcast.
  3. Permitting the possession of alcoholic beverages, but not their sale.
noun
  1. Moisture; humidity; dampness.
  2. Fog; fogginess; vapor.
  3. Dejection or depression; something that spoils a positive emotion (such as enjoyment, satisfaction, expectation or courage) or a desired activity.
  4. A gaseous product, formed in coal mines, old wells, pits, etc.
verb
  1. To suppress vibrations (mechanical) or oscillations (electrical) by converting energy to heat (or some other form of energy).
  2. To dampen; to make moderately wet.
  3. To put out, as fire; to weaken, restrain, or make dull.
noun
  1. Initialism of damage-associated molecular pattern.
  2. Acronym of deficits in attention, motor control and perception.
name
  1. A municipality in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
  2. A surname from German.
  3. A surname from English.

Pronunciation

/ˈdæmp/ [ˈdæmp] /ˈdeə̯mp/ [ˈdeə̯mp] /ˈdɛə̯mp/ [ˈdɛə̯mp] en-us-damp.ogg /ˈdeːmp/ [ˈdeːmp]

Word forms

damp damper dampest damps damping damped

Etymology

From Middle English dampen (“to stifle; suffocate”). Akin to Low German damp, Dutch damp, and German Dampf (“vapor, steam, fog”), Icelandic dampi, Swedish damm (“dust”), and to German dampf imperative of dimpfen (“to smoke”). Also Middle English dampen (“to extinguish, choke, suffocate”). Ultimately all descend from Proto-Germanic *dampaz.

Synonyms

thoan thone melancholy sorrowful moist glum moisten

Derived words

bedamp damp-dry dampen damp haze dampish damply dampness dampsome damp squib damp squid dampth dampy damp down damp off afterdamp blackdamp chokedamp choke damp damp course dampless dampproof damp proofing damp sheet death-damp firedamp flashdamp rising damp stinkdamp whitedamp dampable dampingly nondamping overdamp underdamp
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