Definition of "damp" in 英语

adjective

1. In a state between dry and wet; moderately wet; moist.

   • 25 January 2017, Leena Camadoo writing in The Guardian, Dominican banana producers at sharp end of climate change Once the farms have been drained and the dead plants have been cut down and cleared, farmers then have to be alert for signs of black sigatoka, a devastating fungus which flourishes in damp conditions and can destroy banana farms.
   • The lawn was still damp so we decided not to sit down.
   • The paint is still damp, so please don't touch it.

2. (figuratively) Despondent; dispirited, downcast.

   • 27 July 2016, Jane O’Faherty in The Irish Independent, Monarchs and prison officers win big on second race day Though Travis's 'Why does it always Rain on Me' boomed around the stands, there were few damp spirits in Galway on day two of the races.

3. Permitting the possession of alcoholic beverages, but not their sale.

noun

1. Moisture; humidity; dampness.

2. (archaic) Fog; fogginess; vapor.

3. (archaic) Dejection or depression; something that spoils a positive emotion (such as enjoyment, satisfaction, expectation or courage) or a desired activity.

   • 1728, George Carleton (attributed to Daniel Defoe), The Memoirs of an English Officer, London: E. Symon, p. 72, But though the War was proclaim’d, and Preparations accordingly made for it, the Expectations from all receiv’d a sudden Damp, by the as sudden Death of King William.
   • 1866, James David Forbes, letter to A. Wills dated 2 January, 1866, in Life and Letters of James David Forbes, London: Macmaillan, 1873, p. 429, […] I was concerned to hear from your brother that Mrs. Wills’ health had prevented her accompanying you to Sixt as usual. It must have thrown a damp over your autumn excursion […]

4. (mining, archaic or historical) A gaseous product, formed in coal mines, old wells, pits, etc.

verb

1. (transitive) To suppress vibrations (mechanical) or oscillations (electrical) by converting energy to heat (or some other form of energy).

2. (transitive, archaic) To dampen; to make moderately wet.

   • to damp cloth

3. (transitive, archaic) To put out, as fire; to weaken, restrain, or make dull.