I. ˈtamp, -aa(ə)-, -ai- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: probably from French tamponner to stop up, plug, from Middle French, from tampon, tapon plug, from (assumed) Old French taper to stop up, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English tæppa tap — more at tap
transitive verb
1. : to fill up (a drill hole) above a blasting charge with material (as clay, earth, sand)
2.
[partly from French tamponner to stop up; partly from French étamper to punch, strike, stamp, from Old French estamper, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German stampfōn to stamp — more at stamp ]
a. : to drive in or down by a succession of light or medium blows — compact
tamped some more tobacco into my pipe — H.G.Evarts
tamped the earth
tamped the wet concrete
b. : to put a cover on
these rivalries are usually tamped down by the code that has governed the army — T.H.White b. 1915
3. : to fill in or pack round tightly
took out his pipe and began to tamp it — Dilys Laing
intransitive verb
: to pack or consolidate loose material by ramming
Synonyms: see pack
II. noun
( -s )
: a tool for tamping
a pipe-smoker's knife, complete with a reamer, a tamp , and a regular blade — New Yorker