dam

Definition

A structure placed across a flowing body of water to stop the flow or part of the flow, generally for purposes such as retaining or diverting some of the water or retarding the release of accumulated water to avoid abrupt flooding.

Etymology

From Middle English dam, from Old English *damm, from Proto-West Germanic *damm, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Example Sentences

• "A dam is often an essential source of water to farmers of hilly country."
• "Nothing could be more business-like than the construction of the stout dams, and nothing more gently rural than the limpid lakes, with the grand old forest trees marshalled round their margins[…]"
• "Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys."