What does "damp" mean?
Moisture; humidity; dampness.
Damp
/dæmp/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Moisture; humidity; dampness.
- Grammar: damp is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: a, abate, abridge, absorb the shock.
- Useful contrasts: dry ground, dry sample, low moisture.
- Usage evidence: Clean the window with a damp cloth.
How to use "damp"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "damp" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "damp" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "damp" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "damp" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "damp" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "a" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "damp", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Moisture; humidity; dampness. countable, uncountable
"Ere twice in murk and occidental damp / Moist Hesperus hath quench’d his sleepy lamp,"
- 2 Initialism of damage-associated molecular pattern. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 3 a slight wetness wordnet
- 4 Fog; fogginess; vapor. archaic, countable, uncountable
"Night […] with black air / Accompanied, with damps and dreadful gloom."
- 5 Acronym of deficits in attention, motor control and perception. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 nucleotide derived from adenine with a deoxyribose sugar and a phosphate group wordnet
- 7 Dejection or depression; something that spoils a positive emotion (such as enjoyment, satisfaction, expectation or courage) or a desired activity. archaic, countable, uncountable
"Ev’n now, while thus I stand blest in thy Presence, / A secret Damp of Grief comes o’er my Thoughts,"
- 8 A gaseous product, formed in coal mines, old wells, pits, etc. archaic, countable, historical, uncountable
"There are sulphurous Vapours which infect the Vegetables, and render the Grass unwholsom to the Cattle that feed upon it: Miners are often hurt by these Steams. Observations made in some of the Mines in Derbyshire, describe four sorts of those Damps."
Verb
- 1 To suppress vibrations (mechanical) or oscillations (electrical) by converting energy to heat (or some other form of energy). transitive
"Hydraulic shock absorbers are used to damp out vertical and lateral oscillations."
- 2 lessen in force or effect wordnet
- 3 To dampen; to make moderately wet. archaic, transitive
"to damp cloth"
- 4 make vague or obscure or make (an image) less visible wordnet
- 5 To put out, as fire; to weaken, restrain, or make dull. archaic, transitive
"How many a day has been damped and darkened by an angry word!"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 restrain or discourage wordnet
- 7 deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping wordnet
Adjective
- 1 In a state between dry and wet; moderately wet; moist.
"25 January 2017, Leena Camadoo writing in The Guardian, Dominican banana producers at sharp end of climate change Once the farms have been drained and the dead plants have been cut down and cleared, farmers then have to be alert for signs of black sigatoka, a devastating fungus which flourishes in damp conditions and can destroy banana farms."
- 2 Despondent; dispirited, downcast. figuratively
"27 July 2016, Jane O’Faherty in The Irish Independent, Monarchs and prison officers win big on second race day Though Travis's 'Why does it always Rain on Me' boomed around the stands, there were few damp spirits in Galway on day two of the races."
- 3 Permitting the possession of alcoholic beverages, but not their sale.
"The Roadhouse was twenty-seve miles down the road from Niniltna, nine feet and three inches outside the Niniltna Native Association's tribal jurisdiction, and therefore not subject to the dry law currently in effect. Or was it damp? Kate thought it might have changed, yet again, at the last election, from dry to damp, or maybe it was from wet to damp."
Adjective
- 1 slightly wet wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A municipality in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
- 2 A surname from German.
- 3 A surname from English.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Clean the window with a damp cloth."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "damp"?
Common synonyms include: a, abate, abridge, absorb the shock, acoustic tile, afterdamp.
How do you use "damp" in a sentence?
Clean the window with a damp cloth.
How do you pronounce "damp"?
Pronounced /dæmp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English dampen (“to stifle; suffocate”). Akin to Low German damp, Dutch damp, and German Dampf (“vapor, steam, fog”), Icelandic dampi, Swedish damm (“dust”), and to German dampf imperative of dimpfen (“to smoke”). Also Middle English dampen (“to extinguish, choke, suffocate”). Ultimately all descend from Proto-Germanic *dampaz.
Etymology 2
Borrowed from German Damp.