From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdampdamp1 /dæmp/ ●●○ adjective 1 WETslightly wet, often in an unpleasant way Wipe the leather with a damp cloth. a cold, damp day► see thesaurus at wet2 → damp squib —dampness noun [uncountable] —damply adverbTHESAURUSthingsdamp slightly wetIron the shirt while it is still damp.a damp clothmoist slightly wet, especially when this is pleasant or how something should bea moist chocolate cakeThe cream helps to keep your skin moist.Make sure that the soil is moist.clammy slightly wet and sticky, in an unpleasant way – used especially about someone’s skinHis hands were cold and clammy.air/weatherdamp slightly wet, especially in a cold unpleasant wayIt was a cold damp morning.humid hot and damp in an unpleasant wayFlorida can be very humid in the summer.muggy warm and damp and making you feel uncomfortableThis muggy weather gives me a headache.dank dank air is cold and damp and smells unpleasant – used especially about the air inside a roomThe dank air smelled of stale sweat.
Examples from the Corpus
damp• Be careful you don't slip - the grass is damp.• Don't put that shirt on. It's still damp.• My hair's still a little damp.• He loved the smell of the woods, and the damp alluvial soil that covered these mountains like a blanket.• It would not be damp and she would not be so weary.• Wipe with a damp cloth and grill them, or top each one with a spoonful of stuffing, then bake.• Clean the counter with a damp cloth.• Leonora lay gasping, arms outflung, eyes closed, her hair a tangled mass of damp curls against the pillow.• It's cold and damp outside - make sure you wear a warm coat.• Just wipe off the surface with a damp paper towel.• The great avenues of live oaks meant to grace their approaches now just cast a damp shade.• There was a damp spot on the ceiling.• Then it dashed to the ground near me, dug under a leaf, and pulled up a damp spruce cone.• Sleeping bags can become damp through normal use.• Hair sprouted in damp, unexplored crevices.• At first I hated the damp weather in Britain.dampdamp2 noun [uncountable] British English WETwater in walls or in the air that causes things to be slightly wet Damp had stained the walls.Examples from the Corpus
damp• The constant cold and damp made Tony feel even worse.• A cold damp hung about the beechwood furniture and clung to the velour drapes.• He gazed at the tiny drops of damp caught in the electric of her hair.• The damp retreated down the walls, the gardens came back to life and there was fresh food in the kitchen.dampdamp3 verb [transitive] to dampen something → damp something ↔ down→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
damp• Political upheaval in the Soviet Union damped demand in that market.• The ground mist clung closely to the hedgerows, discouraging the birds and damping down all sound.• She predicted that 1996 will damp employment growth in New Jersey.• The low price of soybeans has damped farmers' interest in the crop.• Holidays in Tokyo and New York damped interest today.• Brownian motion is always present, but it is damped out in some dynamical systems and magnified in others.• A soft retail sales environment and pre-Christmas snowstorms damped results for many retailers.• They tend to avoid US-style controls for damping sudden speculative movements by closing down a market for a particular period.• Damp the sound with the pedal after each beat.Origin damp1 (1300-1400) Middle Low German 