Dam
noun
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.
The reading is the same as the one you learned with the kanji.
私の息子は、ある日突然、堰を切ったように日本語をペラペラ話し始めたんです。
One day, my son suddenly started speaking Japanese fluently, as if a dam in him had been broken.