From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdamdam1 /dæm/ ●●○ noun [countable] 1 TECa special wall built across a river or stream to stop the water from flowing, especially in order to make a lake or produce electricity2 TA technical the mother of a four-legged animal, especially a horse
Examples from the Corpus
dam• He was absolutely convinced that building a dam in Yosemite Valley was the proper thing to do.• A dam had saved the lake and its fish.• A high dam would end their migration, irrevocably.• the Hoover Dam in Nevada• Big, long icicles hanging from the eaves are not necessarily a sign of ice dams.• Work on the dam began in 1983 but was held up by economic and environmental objections.• The dam was finished and in service by September of 1941, an unbelievable sight.• The dams etc may also have been designed to attract industry and so benefit the country in the long term.damdam2 verb (dammed, damming) [transitive] (also dam up) 1 TECto stop the water in a river or stream from flowing by building a special wall across it2 to stop something from being expressed or continuing Once she allowed her anger to show, it could not be dammed up again.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
dam• In 1933, the Columbia was by far the biggest river anyone had ever dreamed about damming.• The Northwest had plenty of smaller rivers, much more easily dammed.• The Stanislaus River is dammed fourteen times on its short run to the sea.• The East Branch River was dammed in 1952.• Kidneys clog with protein from damaged muscles, damming up toxins in the blood.Origin dam1 (1300-1400) Middle Dutch 