clam

1
[ klam ]
See synonyms for: clamclammedclammingclams on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. any of various bivalve mollusks, especially certain edible species.: Compare quahog, soft-shell clam.

  2. Informal. a secretive or silent person.

  1. Slang. a dollar or the sum of a dollar: I only made 60 clams a week.

verb (used without object),clammed, clam·ming.
  1. to gather or dig clams.

Verb Phrases
  1. clam up, Slang. to refuse to talk or reply; refrain from talking or divulging information: The teacher asked who had thrown the eraser, but the class clammed up.

Origin of clam

1
First recorded in 1500–10; short for clam-shell, i.e., bivalve with a shell that clamps; see clam2, shell

Other words from clam

  • clam·like, adjective
  • clam·mer, noun

Words Nearby clam

Other definitions for clam (2 of 2)

clam2
[ klam ]

noun
  1. British Dialect. clamp (defs. 1-3).

  2. Machinery. (formerly) pincers.

Origin of clam

2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English, derivative of clam(m), clom(m), “fetter, clasp, bandage”; cognate with German Klamm “fetter, constriction”; akin to clamp

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use clam in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for clam (1 of 2)

clam1

/ (klæm) /


noun
  1. any of various burrowing bivalve molluscs of the genera Mya, Venus, etc. Many species, such as the quahog and soft-shell clam, are edible and Tridacna gigas is the largest known bivalve, nearly 1.5 metres long

  2. the edible flesh of such a mollusc

  1. informal a reticent person

verbclams, clamming or clammed
  1. (intr) mainly US to gather clams

Origin of clam

1
C16: from earlier clamshell, that is, shell that clamps; related to Old English clamm fetter, Old High German klamma constriction; see clamp 1

British Dictionary definitions for clam (2 of 2)

clam2

/ (klæm) /


verbclams, clamming or clammed
  1. a variant of clem

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with clam

clam

In addition to the idiom beginning with clam

  • clam up

also see:

  • happy as the day is long (as a clam)

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.