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pronounce TAMP: Say it "TAMP. " It rhymes with "camp." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: The word tamp comes from the world of mining. Coal mining. And here's one that comes from the world of diamond mining: G__c___a, the name of a famous group of diamond mines in India, and a lovely label for any source of great wealth. Can you recall it? (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) definition: "Tamp" might trace back to an Old English word meaning "a plug or a stopper."  In English, we first used "tamp" to mean "to plug up or stop up," specifically in coal mining. One way to get coal out of the ground was to cause an explosion: along with the explosive itself, miners would tamp (or forcefully plug) some material (like clay or sand) down into a hole, packing it all in tight. This tamped-down material would make the explosion more effective. Because this kind of tamping required forcefully ramming the material down into the ground, "tamp" grew to mean "to smash down something forcefully, as if trying to pack it down tightly into a hole." grammatical bits: Part of speech: Verb, usually the transitive kind: "He tamps down his worries;" "They hope to tamp down the violence." Other common forms:  tamped, tamping how to use it: "Tamp" is a semi-common word. It's one of those tiny, powerful ones that conveys a lot of force and movement in just a few letters. We occasionally use it in a literal way: "He tamped down the tobacco in the pipe;" "Let's tamp this gravel down." But most often, we use it figuratively, talking about people and actions that tamp down our fears, hopes, worries, desires, feelings, suspicious, expectations, etc.  examples: "But then I soften my voice. Every day she seems thinner. The sharpness of her collarbone is enough to tamp down my irritation at her comment."    — Kathryn Stockett, The Help, 2009 "Released at the end of 2013, 'Beyoncé' takes up a wealth of topics, including the illusory nature of celebrity and the ways in which society works to tamp down girls' ambition."    — Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 5 January 2015 has this page helped you understand "tamp"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "tamp" without saying "ram down" or "cram down." try it out: Talk about a stressful situation you've been in. If you find yourself in it again, what are some ways you can tamp down your fear, stress, or anxiety? If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game for March is "Yup, that's a real word." Check out the definition of a silly-sounding word--yes, a real one, from the Oxford English Dictionary--and see if you can come up with the word itself. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Here's an example: "This three-syllable noun ending in the -ship suffix (as in 'friendship' and 'fellowship') means 'skill in traversing snow.'" The answer is "snowmanship." (Yup, that’s a real word!) Try this one today: This creepy six-syllable noun with a familiar four-syllable suffix means "objects connected with a murder, especially a notorious one, treated as collectable items." review this word: 1. In its figurative sense, the opposite of TAMP DOWN is A. ADD UP. B. BACK UP. C. WHIP UP. 2. In a movie review for the New Yorker, Richard Brody wrote, "The cinematic wonders on display... are tamped down, kept _____." A. crisp B. minimal C. consistent Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. B Answer to the game question: Murderabilia. Oof, it really sounds like it shouldn't be a thing! a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.