clam

¹ American  

[klam] / klæm /

noun

1. any of various bivalve mollusks, especially certain edible species.

2. Informal. a secretive or silent person.

3. clamminess.

4. Slang. a dollar or the sum of a dollar.

   I only made 60 clams a week.

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verb (used without object)

clammed, clamming

1. to gather or dig clams.

verb phrase

1. clam up 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.

clam ² American  

[klam] / klæm /

noun

1. British Dialect. clamp.

2. Machinery. (formerly) pincers.

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clam ¹ British  

/ 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

3. informal a reticent person

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verb

1. (intr) to gather clams

clam ² British  

/ klæm /

verb

1. a variant of clem

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clam Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing clam

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

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Other Word Forms

• clamlike adjective
• clammer noun

Etymology

Origin of clam¹

First recorded in 1500–10; short for clam-shell, i.e., bivalve with a shell that clamps; clam ², shell

Origin of clam²

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

Example Sentences

Affected raw oysters were sold in Washington, while the Manila clams were distributed to restaurants and retailers in California, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Washington, according to the FDA.

From Los Angeles Times

Will you give me some of your clams?'

From Literature

“Well, would the Traveler in your head have clammed up yesterday?”

From Literature

“I typically just use cream and let that reduce with the clam stock I make, which has carrots, celery and leeks.”

From Salon

When you rolled over, you could watch sea horses and shells and the open jaws of the giant clams with polka-dot fish racing through them.

From Literature

Related Words

• mollusk