as in levee
a bank of earth constructed to control water
the river backed up behind the dam until it formed a new lake
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in to block
to prevent passage through by filling with something
ice floes were damming the river
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dam
Dominic Patten, Deadline, 3 Jan. 2026
The same is true for the Samuels Avenue dam, a pump station and three floodgates.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Jan. 2026
Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 15 Dec. 2025
That can help identify whether your home is at risk of ice dams, and lead to insulation upgrades and other services to mitigate ice damming in the future.
—Bridget Fogarty, jsonline.com, 11 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dam
Noun
As divided as the country was fifty years ago, things seemed to fall into place in the months leading up to July 4, with Americans getting a nightly history refresher via CBS’s Bicentennial Minutes and everything from fire hydrants to giant dams painted in the red, white and blue.
—Verb
On the tower’s other side, boundless flats of sand and cracked mud spread to the horizon across what was, prior to the river’s damming a century ago, one of Earth’s great green estuaries.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for dam
Noun
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The levees need critical repairs, and sediment slows water flowing in the river channel.—
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Like a ball passing through the barriers of a pinball machine, the water flows among the components as directed by 2,200 miles of canals, 2,100 miles of levees and berms, 84 pump stations and 778 water control structures.—
Verb
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In the 47-second video, the agent can be seen walking around Good’s maroon Honda Pilot, which is in the middle of the street blocking traffic.—
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Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.—
Verb
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Then fill one of those cans with milk, dump that in, then fill the can again with water.—
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Each envelope containing the clue was inside a box filled with some frightful creature — rats, snakes, a tarantula, millipedes, and cockroaches.—
Noun
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The Hyundai then left the road, traveled up an embankment and struck a large rock, police said.—
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After locating handgun ammunition in the SUV, Burbank PD used a helicopter and police dog named Spike to locate Alas along a steep embankment along the freeway.—
Verb
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With few nearby cities and little on-property lighting, there's not a lot of light pollution obstructing your view of the stars from this International Dark Sky Park.—
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The video begins with Ross in front of the vehicle driven by Good, who had stopped her burgundy SUV perpendicular to the street, obstructing the flow of traffic.—
Verb
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The bottle is small, easy to pack, and a little goes a long way—proof that sometimes even the smallest things have a big impact.—
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On Tuesday, the crew prepared by packing cargo, reviewing return-to-Earth procedures and transferring hardware aboard the ISS, the agency said.—
Verb
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The space, a former artist’s studio turned residence, opens directly onto the street and is crowned by a transom window that floods the interior with natural light.—
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Fans have since flooded the comment section of the December video, with many pointing out that, in retrospect, Sarah cooking for herself was a subtle hint at the pair's divorce.—
Verb
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On top of that, Petek wrote that over the last four years the governor and Legislature had plugged $125 billion in budget holes largely without addressing the structural differences between spending and revenue which have led budget deficits to grow over time.—
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Meanwhile, authorities plugged a description of the Nissan into a system run by Flock Safety that can read license plates and identify other vehicle details, then match sightings of the same car, including with different tags.—
Cite this Entry
“Dam.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dam. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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