clasp
Americannoun
-
clasps
plural
-
a device, usually of metal, for fastening together two or more things or parts of the same thing.
a clasp for paper money; a clasp on a necklace.
-
a firm grasp or grip.
a clasp of hands.
-
a tight embrace.
She held the child in a loving clasp.
- Synonyms:
- hug
-
a small bar or metal design, as a star, for affixing to the ribbon of a military decoration to indicate that the bearer has been awarded the decoration an additional time.
verb (used with object)
-
clasps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
clasped,
past participle, past
-
claspt,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
clasping
present participle
-
to fasten with or as with a clasp.
-
to furnish with a clasp.
-
to seize, grasp, or grip with the hand.
She clasped the club in her hand.
-
to hold in a tight embrace; hug.
He clasped the child to him.
verb (used without object)
-
clasps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
clasped,
past participle, past
-
claspt,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
clasping
present participle
noun
-
a fastening, such as a catch or hook, used for holding things together
-
a firm grasp, hold, or embrace
-
military a bar or insignia on a medal ribbon, to indicate either a second award or the battle, campaign, or reason for its award
verb
-
to hold in a firm grasp
-
to grasp firmly with the hand
-
to fasten together with or as if with a clasp
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
claspsimple
-
claspssimple
-
have claspedperfect
-
have clasptperfect
-
has claspedperfect
-
has clasptperfect
-
am claspingprogressive
-
are claspingprogressive
-
is claspingprogressive
-
have been claspingperfect progressive
-
has been claspingperfect progressive
Past
-
claspedsimple
-
clasptsimple
-
had claspedperfect
-
had clasptperfect
-
was claspingprogressive
-
were claspingprogressive
-
had been claspingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of clasp
1275–1325; Middle English clasp (noun), claspen (v.), perhaps blend of clippen clip 2 and haspe hasp
Explanation
A bracelet is held together by a clasp. A girl who gets a nice one from her boyfriend might clasp her arms around him. A clasp is a fastener. To clasp is to hold tightly. In all uses of the word, clasp means to hold together tightly. You want your bracelet or belt clasp to be strong so it doesn't come apart. And when you take a child on a walk across a busy intersection, you clasp their hand tightly. The word is not related to the word clap, but if you clap your hands together, then keep them there, you turn a clap to a clasp.
Vocabulary lists containing clasp
"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
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Beowulf vocabulary
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The Circuit
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And it is viewed as the clasp of the first island chain guarding against Chinese maritime expansion.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
The devices, made by London-based Greyparrot, use artificial intelligence to identify recyclables, flag food-grade material, gauge items’ mass, assess market value and calculate points at which a robotic claw might best clasp each piece.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
The best thing to do is to crouch face-down, bend the legs underneath the torso and clasp both hands behind the neck, Nakae said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2025
But Pegula's clasp of her head after they blew an 8-4 lead in the first-to-10 match tie-break summed up their bitter disappointment at missing a shot for the trophy.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2025
Wires are attached to the button on my foil’s tip and behind the silver clasp that protects my hand.
From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
On our call, Patinkin clasps his arm around Grody, showering her with affection and telling her he adores her as she bursts out laughing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025
He clasps his hands together, smiles and looks to the skies.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2024
His comedy had choreography, a visual language of pointing, air-sawing and face clasps.
From New York Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
A model adorned with armor-like neck clasps, tears streaming from his eyes, sported a ruched devore gown that fused the high-priestly with a warrioresque Middle Earth aesthetic.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 24, 2024
She slides onto the bench opposite and clasps her wrinkly hands around a cup of water.
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
Shortly after hearing the sentence, a defiant-looking Guo nodded toward a courtroom packed with his supporters and clasped his hands in a praying motion, as he had done repeatedly during his trial.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Newlyweds Tito Avalos, 26, and Andrea Avalos, 24, who were visiting from El Salvador, tied their wishes to a tree together, their wrists entwined and fingers clasped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
Guarded by elite army commandos, their mascot Aloka -- a stray dog rescued in India -- walked on a leash, drawing bows and clasped hands from devotees lining the route.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
Gilberg considered the question, hands clasped beneath his chin, the traffic outside humming expectantly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026
Now he’s looking at his hands, which are clasped between his knees.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
The child lifted up and claspt its little beseeching hands, and stroakt the pale neck and cheeks of the marble beauty.
From The Old Man of the Mountain, The Lovecharm and Pietro of Abano Tales from the German of Tieck by Tieck, Ludwig
In one hand he carried a port-folio, and his other paw claspt a bunch of small brushes.
From The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 2: War by Ward, Artemus
At last I hooked my ankle in a vine, That claspt the feet of a Mnemosyne, And falling on my face was caught and known.
From The Princess by Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron
And what to read mine? is my booke claspt up?
From A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 by Bullen, A. H. (Arthur Henry)
But the youngest Goddess claspt the Ball to her breast.
From The Dales of Arcady by Ratcliffe, Dorothy Una
His brothers and wife, clasping hands, sat in the first row watching.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
On the coastal road at Playa Canizo, a man in a straw hat and sodden fatigues, clasping an equally wet suitcase, thrust out his left arm, hoping for a ride to safety.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2025
“He doesn’t know he was in a movie,” said Leonberg, clasping a happily wriggling Indy, who doesn’t register me on the other end of the Zoom interview.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2025
The card also shows Meghan hugging a young girl and Prince Harry clasping the hand of a man lying in bed.
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2024
An offering.“I hope this won't be your last dance, Zuri, daughter of Ochún,” Madrina says, clasping her hands and smiling brightly at me.
From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
