Damp vs. Squib

Dampadjective

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

‘The lawn was still damp so we decided not to sit down.’; ‘The paint is still damp, so please don't touch it.’;

Squibnoun

(military) A small firework that is intended to spew sparks rather than explode.

‘English Navy squibs set fire to two dozen enemy ships in a Dutch harbor during the 16th-century battle against the Spanish Armada.’;

Dampadjective

(figuratively) Despondent; dispirited, downcast.

Squibnoun

A similar device used to ignite an explosive or launch a rocket, etc.

Dampadjective

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

Squibnoun

(mining) A kind of slow match or safety fuse.

Dampnoun

Moisture; humidity; dampness.

Squibnoun

(US) Any small firecracker sold to the general public, usually in special clusters designed to explode in series after a single master fuse is lit.

Dampnoun

(archaic) Fog; fogginess; vapor.

Squibnoun

(firearms) A malfunction in which the fired projectile does not have enough force behind it to exit the barrel, and thus becomes stuck.

Dampnoun

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

Squibnoun

(automotive) The heating element used to set off the sodium azide pellets in a vehicle's airbag.

Dampnoun

A gaseous product, formed in coal mines, old wells, pits, etc.

Squibnoun

In special effects, a small explosive used to replicate a bullet hitting a surface.

Dampverb

To dampen; to render damp; to make humid, or moderately wet

‘to damp cloth’;

Squibnoun

(dated) A short piece of witty writing; a lampoon.

Dampverb

To put out, as fire; to depress or deject; to deaden; to cloud; to check or restrain, as action or vigor; to make dull; to weaken; to discourage.

Squibnoun

(dated) A writer of lampoons.

Dampverb

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

Squibnoun

(legal) In a legal casebook, a short summary of a legal action placed between more extensively quoted cases.

Dampnoun

Moisture; humidity; fog; fogginess; vapor.

‘Night . . . with black airAccompanied, with damps and dreadful gloom.’;

Squibnoun

(linguistics) A short article, often published in journals, that introduces theoretically problematic empirical data or discusses an overlooked theoretical problem. In contrast to a typical article, a squib need not answer the questions that it poses.

Dampnoun

Dejection; depression; cloud of the mind.

‘Even now, while thus I stand blest in thy presence,A secret damp of grief comes o'er my soul.’; ‘It must have thrown a damp over your autumn excursion.’;

Squibnoun

An unimportant, paltry, or mean-spirited person.

Dampnoun

A gaseous product, formed in coal mines, old wells, pints, etc.

Squibnoun

(graphic design) A sketched concept or visual solution, usually very quick and not too detailed.

Dampadjective

Being in a state between dry and wet; moderately wet; moist; humid.

‘O'erspread with a damp sweat and holy fear.’;

Squibverb

To make a sound like a small explosion.

‘A Snider squibbed in the jungle.’;

Dampadjective

Dejected; depressed; sunk.

‘All these and more came flocking, but with looksDowncast and damp.’;

Squibverb

To throw squibs; to utter sarcastic or severe reflections; to contend in petty dispute.

‘to squib a little debate’;

Dampverb

To render damp; to moisten; to make humid, or moderately wet; to dampen; as, to damp cloth.

Squibnoun

A little pipe, or hollow cylinder of paper, filled with powder or combustible matter, to be thrown into the air while burning, so as to burst there with a crack.

‘Lampoons, like squibs, may make a present blaze.’; ‘The making and selling of fireworks, and squibs . . . is punishable.’;

Dampverb

To put out, as fire; to depress or deject; to deaden; to cloud; to check or restrain, as action or vigor; to make dull; to weaken; to discourage.

‘Usury dulls and damps all industries, improvements, and new inventions, wherein money would be stirring if it were not for this slug.’; ‘How many a day has been damped and darkened by an angry word!’; ‘The failure of his enterprise damped the spirit of the soldiers.’;

Squibnoun

A kind of slow match or safety fuse.

Dampnoun

a slight wetness

Squibnoun

A sarcastic speech or publication; a petty lampoon; a brief, witty essay.

‘Who copied his squibs, and reëchoed his jokes.’;

Dampverb

deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping

Squibnoun

A writer of lampoons.

‘The squibs are those who in the common phrase of the world are called libelers, lampooners, and pamphleteers.’;

Dampverb

restrain or discourage;

‘the sudden bad news damped the joyous atmosphere’;

Squibnoun

A paltry fellow.

Dampverb

make vague or obscure or make (an image) less visible;

‘muffle the message’;

Squibverb

To throw squibs; to utter sarcastic or severe reflections; to contend in petty dispute; as, to squib a little in debate.

Dampverb

lessen in force or effect;

‘soften a shock’; ‘break a fall’;

Squibnoun

firework consisting of a tube filled with powder (as a broken firecracker) that burns with a fizzing noise

Dampadjective

slightly wet;

‘clothes damp with perspiration’; ‘a moist breeze’; ‘eyes moist with tears’;