A barrier built across a river or stream to hold back water and form a lake or reservoir.
From Middle English 'dam' or 'demme', related to Middle Dutch 'dam' meaning 'barrier' or 'dike'. Many city names like Amsterdam and Rotterdam come from this same root.
A dam is like a giant pause button for a river. By stopping water, humans gain power—literally, in the form of electricity—but also take on huge responsibility for what happens upstream and downstream.
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