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
High within the tower, however, another technological innovation helps protect the 101-story skyscraper — a huge orb-like device known as a tuned mass damper.
—
Oscar Holland, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
There's some extra ride height, and the dampers are tuned for bumpy gravel roads.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 7 Sep. 2023
Saturday is expected to be dry with a high of 70 degrees, but things get damper as the weekend progresses, according to Brett Williams, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Kansas City.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2024
The result was one of this young year’s damper days.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024
Cruel: Detroit Lions' 34-31 loss to 49ers puts damper on otherwise great year
Purdy had scrambles of 21, 10 and 21 yards to avoid sacks and extend scoring drives.
—Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 29 Jan. 2024
But then a huge hulking demon form of Lorne appears as a manifestation of his subconscious and puts a general damper on the festivities.
—Ew Staff, EW.com, 24 Oct. 2023
This body of water has long been considered a promising spot for hosting life, but a new study puts a bit of a damper on that idea.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024
The car started life as a Carrera 4 before Theon swapped on widebody carbon-fiber panels, added five-stage adaptive dampers from TracTive, bolted on an intake plenum based on a 997 GT3 and used a dual-mass flywheel to mate the engine to the gearbox.
—Michael Van Runkle, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024
Oscar Holland, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
There's some extra ride height, and the dampers are tuned for bumpy gravel roads.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 7 Sep. 2023
Saturday is expected to be dry with a high of 70 degrees, but things get damper as the weekend progresses, according to Brett Williams, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Kansas City.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2024
The result was one of this young year’s damper days.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024
Cruel: Detroit Lions' 34-31 loss to 49ers puts damper on otherwise great year
Purdy had scrambles of 21, 10 and 21 yards to avoid sacks and extend scoring drives.
—Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 29 Jan. 2024
But then a huge hulking demon form of Lorne appears as a manifestation of his subconscious and puts a general damper on the festivities.
—Ew Staff, EW.com, 24 Oct. 2023
This body of water has long been considered a promising spot for hosting life, but a new study puts a bit of a damper on that idea.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024
The car started life as a Carrera 4 before Theon swapped on widebody carbon-fiber panels, added five-stage adaptive dampers from TracTive, bolted on an intake plenum based on a 997 GT3 and used a dual-mass flywheel to mate the engine to the gearbox.
—Michael Van Runkle, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024
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 18 Apr. 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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