n.
Pronunciation: ' dam-p ə r
Function: noun
Date: 1707
1 : a dulling or deadening influence <put a damper on the celebration>
2 : a device that damps: as a : a valve or plate (as in the flue of a furnace) for regulating the draft b : a small felted block to stop the vibration of a piano string c chiefly British : SHOCK ABSORBER
3 Australian : a simple usually unleavened bread of a kind made originally in the Australian bush