dam

The word “dam” means a barrier built across a river or stream to hold back or control the flow of water. In plain terms, a wall or barrier that holds back water — or, for animals, the mother.

“Dam” is pronounced DAM (/ˈdæm/ in IPA).

Here is “dam” used in a sentence: “The dam supplies electricity to three nearby towns.”

Depending on how it is used, “dam” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “dam” comes from Old English. From Old English damm, a very old Germanic word for a barrier holding back water.

“Dam” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Dam” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a barrier built across a river or stream to hold back or control the flow of water.

A dam is a barrier built across a river or stream to hold back or control water, usually creating a reservoir behind it. A levee runs alongside a river to stop it overflowing its banks. A dam blocks the flow across the channel, while a levee contains it along the sides.

A dam is the physical barrier built across a river to hold back water. A reservoir is the body of stored water that collects behind the dam. In short, the dam is the structure, and the reservoir is the lake it creates.

'Dam' and 'damn' are homophones with different meanings. 'Dam' is a barrier that holds back water, or the verb for blocking water's flow. 'Damn' is an exclamation or a verb meaning to condemn. The silent 'n' in 'damn' is the key spelling difference.

A dam is a substantial barrier that holds back a large volume of water, often for storage or power. A weir is a lower barrier that water flows over the top of, used mainly to control or measure flow rather than to store water.