Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

put a damper on

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.94 in modern English

Syllables: put a -damper on
IPA

19

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

2

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To stop people from enjoying an activity.

Example Sentences

"John told us he had lost his job, which put a damper on the celebrations."

Inflected Forms

puts a damper on (present, singular) putting a damper on (participle, present) put a dampener on (alternative)

Phrases

rock the boat make waves wet blanket party pooper stick in the mud

Frequently Paired Words

rock the boat make waves wet blanket killjoy party pooper spoilsport stick in the mud nonconform

Synonyms

rain on somebody's parade upset the applecart burst someone's bubble piss in someone's cereal piss in someone's Cheerios piss in someone's cornflakes piss on someone's chips piss on someone's bonfire piss on someone's campfire put a damper on rain on someone's parade shit in someone's cereal

Antonyms

celebrate live it up party

Questions

What does put a damper on mean?: To stop people from enjoying an activity.

How to pronounce put a damper on

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “put a damper on”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “put a damper on”.
Repeat and practice — Say “put a damper on” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.