- a barrier that is built across a river in order to stop the water from flowing, used especially to make a reservoir (= a lake for storing water) or to produce electricity
- the Narmada dam in India
- The dam burst.
- The dam burst and the valley was flooded.
Extra ExamplesTopics Buildingsc1, The environmentc1, Geographyc1- The dam has been breached and there is a danger of flooding.
- The dam holds back the water.
- a large hydroelectric dam on the Colorado River
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- hydroelectric
- build
- construct
- breach
- …
- burst
- break
- hold something back
- …
- dam across
- dam on
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- (especially South African English) an artificial lake where rain or spring water is collected and stored
- The dam was quite full after the winter.
- (specialist) the mother of some animals, especially horses compare sire
- (also dental dam)a small rubber sheet used by dentists to keep a tooth separate from the other teeth
- (also dental dam)a small rubber sheet used to protect the mouth during sex
Word Originnoun sense 1 Middle English: from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch; related to Dutch dam and German Damm, also to Old English fordemman ‘close up’. noun sense 2 late Middle English (denoting a human mother): alteration of dame.
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dam