dam

A2 Topic:Nature & Landscape

US /ˈdæm/ See IPA manual

Homophones

damn /ˈdæm/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like dem /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Freq #6120

Meanings

1

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

The dam provides electricity for the whole region.
2

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

Engineers dammed the river to create a reservoir.
3

noun
The lake of water that builds up behind a dam.

We went swimming in the dam on a hot afternoon.
4

noun
The mother of an animal, especially in breeding.

The foal stayed close to its dam in the field.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to block or hold back the... dam up

Word family

Forms dammeddammingdams

Derived forms antidamcoffer-damcofferdamdambreakdamburstdambusterdambustingdamlikedammabledamsidedamsire

Etymology

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

dam Middle English *damm Old English *dammaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Nature & Landscape

External links

# dam

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈdæm/
**Frequency rank:** 6120

## Meanings
1. A barrier built across a river to hold back or control the water.
2. To block or hold back the flow of water with a barrier.
3. The lake of water that builds up behind a dam.
4. The mother of an animal, especially in breeding.

## Examples
- The dam provides electricity for the whole region.
- Engineers dammed the river to create a reservoir.
- We went swimming in the dam on a hot afternoon.
- The foal stayed close to its dam in the field.

## Derived Forms
- antidam
- coffer-dam
- cofferdam
- dambreak
- damburst
- dambuster
- dambusting
- damlike
- dammable
- damside
- damsire

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dam
- Root: *damm
- Root: *dammaz

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

## AI Etymology
dam comes from Middle English dam, from Old English *damm, from Proto-West Germanic *damm, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz. The historical chain includes Middle English dam, Old English *damm, Proto-West Germanic *damm, Proto-Germanic *dammaz. Current senses include A barrier built across a river to hold back or control the water and to block or hold back the flow of water with a barrier. English relatives and later formations include antidam, coffer-dam, cofferdam.

## Topics
- Nature & Landscape

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