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damp

adjective · noun · verb

Simple meaning

In a state between dry and wet.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

damp
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈdæmp

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. In a state between dry and wet; moderately wet; moist.

  2. figuratively

    Despondent; dispirited, downcast.

  3. Permitting the possession of alcoholic beverages, but not their sale.

noun

  1. Moisture; humidity; dampness.

verb

  1. transitive

    To suppress vibrations (mechanical) or oscillations (electrical) by converting energy to heat (or some other form of energy).

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

More ways to use damp

  • “The sudden bad news damped the joyous atmosphere.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

damp clothdamp airdamp weatherdamp earthdamp grounddamp hairslightly dampdamp sand

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • dampernounInflected form

    A movable iron plate that regulates the draft in a stove or chimney or furnace.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • damping off fungusnounCompound term

    Fungus causing damping off disease in seedlings.

  • damper blocknounCompound term

    Damper consisting of a small felted block that drops onto a piano string to stop its vibration.

  • damp coursenounCompound term

    A course of some impermeable material laid in the foundation walls of building near the ground to prevent dampness from rising into the building.

  • damp-proof coursenounCompound term

    A course of some impermeable material laid in the foundation walls of building near the ground to prevent dampness from rising into the building.

  • damping offnounCompound term

    A plant disease caused by a fungus.

  • piano dampernounCompound term

    Damper consisting of a small felted block that drops onto a piano string to stop its vibration.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: moisture

dampness

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.