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   damp

   /damp/

   adjective

   • 1. slightly wet: "her hair was still damp from the shower"

   noun

   • 1. moisture diffused through the air or a solid substance or condensed on a surface, typically with detrimental or unpleasant effects: "the house reeked of mould and damp"
   • ▪ short for firedamp
   • ▪ damp air or atmosphere: archaic "the damps of the valley"
   • 2. a discouragement or check: archaic "shame gave a damp to her triumph"

   verb

   • 1. make (something) slightly wet: "damp a small area with water"
   • 2. make a fire burn less strongly by reducing the flow of air to it: "he damped down the fire for the night"
   • ▪ control or restrain a feeling or a situation: "she tried to damp down her feelings of despair"
   • 3. reduce or stop the vibration of (the strings of a piano or other musical instrument) so as to reduce the volume of sound: "the muted notes should be produced by damping the strings at the seventh position"
   • ▪ progressively reduce the amplitude of (an oscillation or vibration): "concrete structures damp out any vibrations"

   Word Origin Middle English (in the noun sense ‘noxious inhalation’): of West Germanic origin; related to a Middle Low German word meaning ‘vapour, steam, smoke’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. dampish adjective
   • 2. damply adverb

   Scrabble Points: 9

   • D

     2

   • A

     1

   • M

     3

   • P

     3

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