dam

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A barrier built across a river to hold back or control the water.

   The dam provides electricity for the whole region.

2. 2
   verb

   To block or hold back the flow of water with a barrier.

   Engineers dammed the river to create a reservoir.

3. 3
   noun

   The lake of water that builds up behind a dam.

   We went swimming in the dam on a hot afternoon.

4. 4
   noun

   The mother of an animal, especially in breeding.

   The foal stayed close to its dam in the field.

From Middle English dam, from Old English *damm, from Proto-West Germanic *damm, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

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