1 B1 neutral
To block the flow of water by building or creating a barrier across a waterway.
"The beavers had dammed up the stream, creating a wide, shallow pond."
separable
dam up
B1 neutral separable transitive
To block or restrain the flow of water (or figuratively, of emotions) by creating a barrier.
In plain English
To stop something from flowing by blocking it — like building a wall across a river.
What does "dam up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B2 idiomatic neutral
To suppress or hold back emotions, preventing them from being expressed.
"Years of grief had been dammed up inside him, and the funeral finally broke through it."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To construct a dam so that something (water) is held up.
Actually means
To stop something from flowing by blocking it — like building a wall across a river.
Usage tip
The literal sense is used in engineering and environmental contexts. The figurative sense — damming up emotions — appears in literary and psychological writing, suggesting suppressed feelings that build up dangerously.
Words that pair with "dam up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
river stream water emotions feelings grief
How to conjugate "dam up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
dam up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
dams up
he/she/it
Past simple
damed up
yesterday
Past participle
damed up
have + pp
-ing form
daming up
continuous
Hear "dam up" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "dam up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
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