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dam

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The definition of a dam is something that holds back water, or the body of water that is being held.

(noun)

An example of a dam is rubber sheet put around a tooth to keep it dry during a dental procedure.
An example of a dam is the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in Nevada.

Dam is defined as to create a barrier to hold back liquid.

(verb)

An example of dam is building a rock wall across a stream.

See dam in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a barrier built to hold back flowing water
the water thus kept back
any barrier like a dam, as a rubber sheet used in dentistry to keep a tooth dry

Origin: ME < Gmc base seen in MLowG, MDu dam, ON dammr, MHG tam, Goth faur-dammjan, to stop up < IE base *dhē, to set, put in place > do, L facere

transitive verb dammed, damming

to build a dam in
to keep back or confine by or as by a dam: usually with up

noun

the female parent of any four-legged animal
Archaic a mother

Origin: ME, var. of dame, dame

See dam in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

a. A barrier constructed across a waterway to control the flow or raise the level of water.
b. A body of water controlled by such a barrier.
A barrier against the passage of liquid or loose material, as a rubber sheet used in dentistry to isolate one or more teeth from the rest of the mouth.
An obstruction; a hindrance.

transitive verb dammed dammed, dam·ming, dams