dam

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Adjective, Adverb, Interjection

OXFORD DICTIONARY

dam, n. & v.
--n.
1 a barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level, forming a reservoir or preventing flooding.
2 a barrier constructed in a stream by a beaver.
3 anything functioning as a dam does.
4 a causeway.
--v.tr. (dammed, damming)
1 furnish or confine with a dam.
2 (often foll. by up) block up; hold back; obstruct.

dam, n. the female parent of an animal, esp. a four-footed one.

Etymology

ME: var. of DAME

THESAURUS

dam

arch dam, arrest, artificial lake, backstop, bamboo curtain, bank, bar, barrage, barrier, bayou lake, bear-trap dam, beaver dam, bind, block, block up, blockade, boom, bottle up, brake, breakwater, breastwork, brick wall, bring to, bring up short, buffer, bulkhead, bulwark, bung, caulk, check, checkmate, chink, choke, choke off, choke up, cistern, clog, clog up, cofferdam, congest, constipate, cork, countercheck, cover, curb, cut short, dam up, damp, dampen, dead water, deadlock, defense, delay, detain, dike, ditch, draw rein, earthwork, embankment, etang, farm pond, fence, fill, fill up, fishpond, foster mother, foul, freeze, freshwater lake, gate, genetrix, glacial lake, gravity dam, groin, halt, hinder, hold back, hold in check, hold up, hydraulic-fill dam, impede, inhibit, inland sea, intercept, interfere, intermeddle, interrupt, intervene, iron curtain, jam, jetty, keep back, keep in check, lagoon, laguna, lake, lakelet, landlocked water, leaping weir, levee, linn, loch, logjam, lough, ma, mam, mama, mammy, mater, materfamilias, maternal ancestor, matriarch, meddle, mere, milldam, millpond, millpool, moat, mole, mom, mommy, mother, mound, mummy, nyanza, obstipate, obstruct, oppose, oxbow lake, pack, parapet, plash, plug, plug up, pond, pondlet, pool, portcullis, puddle, pull up, put paid to, rampart, repress, reservoir, resist, restrain, retard, roadblock, rock-fill dam, salina, salt pond, scotch, seawall, set back, shutter dam, slacken, snub, spile, stagnant water, stalemate, stall, stanch, standing water, stay, stem, stem the tide, stench, stepmother, still water, stone wall, stop, stop cold, stop dead, stop short, stop up, stopper, stopple, stuff, stuff up, sump, suppress, tank, tarn, the old woman, tidal pond, volcanic lake, wall, water hole, water pocket, weir, well, wicket dam, work

ROGET THESAURUS

dam

Hindrance

N hindrance, prevention, preclusion, obstruction, stoppage, embolus, embolism, infarct, interruption, interception, interclusion, hindrance, impedition, retardment, retardation, embarrassment, oppilation, coarctation, stricture, restriction, restraint, inhibition, blockade, interference, interposition, obtrusion, discouragement, discountenance, impediment, let, obstacle, obstruction, knot, knag, check, hitch, contretemps, screw loose, grit in the oil, bar, stile, barrier, turnstile, turnpike, gate, portcullis, beaver dam, trocha, barricade, wall, dead wall, sea wall, levee breakwater, groyne, bulkhead, block, buffer, stopper, boom, dam, weir, burrock, drawback, objection, stumbling-block, stumbling-stone, lion in the path, snag, snags and sawyers, encumbrance, incumbrance, clog, skid, shoe, spoke, drag, drag chain, drag weight, stay, stop, preventive, prophylactic, load, burden, fardel, onus, millstone round one's neck, impedimenta, dead weight, lumber, pack, nightmare, Ephialtes, incubus, old man of the sea, remora, difficulty, insuperable, obstacle, estoppel, ill wind, head wind, trammel, tether, hold back, counterpoise, damper, wet blanket, hinderer, marplot, killjoy, party pooper, party crasher, interloper, trail of a red herring, opponent, hindering, obstructive, obstruent, impeditive, impedient, intercipient, prophylactic, impedimentary, in the way of, unfavorable, onerous, burdensome, cumbrous, cumbersome, obtrusive, hindered, windbound, waterlogged, heavy laden, hard pressed, unassisted &c (assist), single-handed, alone, deserted, occurrent nubes.

Paternity

N paternity, parentage, consanguinity, parent, father, sire, dad, papa, paterfamilias, abba, genitor, progenitor, procreator, ancestor, grandsire, grandfather, great- grandfather, fathership, fatherhood, mabap, house, stem, trunk, tree, stock, stirps, pedigree, lineage, line, family, tribe, sept, race, clan, genealogy, descent, extraction, birth, ancestry, forefathers, forbears, patriarchs, motherhood, maternity, mother, dam, mamma, materfamilias, grandmother, paternal, parental, maternal, family, ancestral, linear, patriarchal, avi numerantur avorum, happy he with such a mother, hombre bueno no le busquen abolengo, philosophia stemma non inspicit.

Closure

VB close, occlude, plug, block up, stop up, fill up, bung up, cork up, button up, stuff up, shut up, dam up, blockade, obstruct, bar, bolt, stop, seal, plumb, choke, throttle, ram down, dam, cram, trap, clinch, put to the door, shut the door.

Lake

N gulf, lake, land covered with water, gulf, gulph, bay, inlet, bight, estuary, arm of the sea, bayou, fiord, armlet, frith, firth, ostiary, mouth, lagune, lagoon, indraught, cove, creek, natural harbor, roads, strait, narrows, Euripus, sound, belt, gut, kyles, continental slope, continental shelf, lake, loch, lough, mere, tarn, plash, broad, pond, pool, lin, puddle, slab, well, artesian well, standing water, dead water, sheet of water, fish pond, mill pond, ditch, dike, dyke, dam, reservoir, alberca, barachois, hog wallow, lacustrine.

River

VB flow, run, meander, gush, pour, spout, roll, jet, well, issue, drop, drip, dribble, plash, spirtle, trill, trickle, distill, percolate, stream, overflow, inundate, deluge, flow over, splash, swash, guggle, murmur, babble, bubble, purl, gurgle, sputter, spurt, spray, regurgitate, ooze, flow out, rain hard, rain in torrents, rain cats and dogs, rain pitchforks, pour with rain, drizzle, spit, set in, mizzle, flow into, fall into, open into, drain into, discharge itself, disembogue, pour, pour out, shower down, irrigate, drench, spill, splash, stanch, dam, up, obstruct.