tamp Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a tool for tamping (e.g., for tamping tobacco into a pipe bowl or a charge into a drill hole etc.)
    tamper; tamping bar.
  2. verb press down tightly
    tamp down; pack.
    • tamp the coffee grinds in the container to make espresso

WordNet

Tamp transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. F. tamponner to plug or stop. See Tampion.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Tamped ; present participle & verbal noun Tamping
Definitions
  1. In blasting, to plug up with clay, earth, dry sand, sod, or other material, as a hole bored in a rock, in order to prevent the force of the explosion from being misdirected.
  2. To drive in or down by frequent gentle strokes; as, to tamp earth so as to make a smooth place.

Webster 1913