I. damp 1 /dæmp/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Middle Low German ]
1 . slightly wet, often in an unpleasant way:
Wipe the leather with a damp cloth.
a cold, damp day
2 . damp squib British English informal something that is intended to be exciting, effective etc, but which is disappointing
—dampness noun [uncountable]
—damply adverb
• • •
THESAURUS
■ things
▪ damp slightly wet:
Iron the shirt while it is still damp.
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a damp cloth
▪ moist slightly wet, especially when this is pleasant or how something should be:
a moist chocolate cake
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The cream helps to keep your skin moist.
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Make sure that the soil is moist.
▪ clammy slightly wet and sticky, in an unpleasant way – used especially about someone’s skin:
His hands were cold and clammy.
■ air/weather
▪ damp slightly wet, especially in a cold unpleasant way:
It was a cold damp morning.
▪ humid hot and damp in an unpleasant way:
Florida can be very humid in the summer.
▪ muggy warm and damp and making you feel uncomfortable:
This muggy weather gives me a headache.
▪ dank dank air is cold and damp and smells unpleasant – used especially about the air inside a room:
The dank air smelled of stale sweat.
II. damp 2 BrE AmE noun [uncountable] British English
water in walls or in the air that causes things to be slightly wet:
Damp had stained the walls.
III. damp 3 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
to dampen something
damp something ↔ down phrasal verb
to make a fire burn more slowly, often by covering it with ↑ ash