大坝是建筑在溪流、河流和河口的屏障，用来防止洪水泛滥，生产水力发电，或是储水作饮食或灌溉之用。在河流中上流建造的短距离人工高耸河堤作用主要功能并非防止水患，而是为了集结河水，把水汇集在堤，将河谷淹没后形成水库，现代的大坝主要有两大类：土石坝和混凝土坝。

简言之，堤坝之兴建与水库作用与原因相似，都是为了集结水源，而用意一般如下：

堤坝一般都建于狭窄的谷地，因为两岸的山坡可以作为水库的天然围墙，而大坝的长度也可大大缩短。兴建之前，将被水淹地带的民居和古迹需要被移到其他地方。在中国，最知名的有三峡水电站。

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for such activities as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability. Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam can also be used to collect water or for storage of water which can be evenly distributed between locations. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees (also known as dikes) are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions.