1
: a dulling or deadening influence
put a damper on the celebration
2
: a device that damps: such 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
Australia
: a simple usually unleavened bread of a kind made originally in the Australian bush
Examples of damper in a Sentence
the pianist used the damper pedal on the piano for the quiet passages
Recent Examples on the Web
The pack's versatile design includes multiple fixation points for dampers, enhancing vibration resistance throughout its lifetime.
—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 May 2024
The first power outage occurred after a crew member mistakenly closed an exhaust damper while conducting maintenance, causing one of the ship’s diesel engines to stall, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said in their preliminary report.
—Lea Skene, Fortune, 15 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for damper 
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 May 2024
The first power outage occurred after a crew member mistakenly closed an exhaust damper while conducting maintenance, causing one of the ship’s diesel engines to stall, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said in their preliminary report.
—Lea Skene, Fortune, 15 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for damper
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'damper.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near damper
Cite this Entry
“Damper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/damper. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
damper
noun
damp·er
ˈdam-pər 
: one that damps : as
a
: a valve or plate (as in the flue of a furnace) for regulating the draft
b
: a device (as one of the felt-covered pieces of wood in a piano) used to deaden vibrations or oscillations
c
: a dulling or deadening influence
put a damper on the celebration
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