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damer

pack down, tamp

verb dah-MEH Less Common
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Also means

crown (in checkers)

Usage Note

Damer primarily means to compact a surface (snow on a ski slope, earth in a garden). In the board game of checkers (les dames), damer un pion means to crown a piece when it reaches the opponent's back row. The idiomatic expression damer le pion à quelqu'un means 'to get one up on someone'.

Examples

"Les pisteurs ont damé la neige avant l'ouverture."

Natural Translation

The ski patrol packed down the snow before opening.

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