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; see 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

Explanation

A clam is a marine animal with two shells that eats by straining food from water, sand, or mud. You can sometimes find clams by digging in the sand close to the seashore. The largest clams are used for food by humans, including the scallop, a particularly big form of clam. When you order soup in New England, it's not unlikely that it will be clam chowder, a creamy, thick stew with potatoes and pieces of clam. When clam is a verb, it means "to dig clams on the beach," and if your friend offers to pay you 1000 clams for your old car, she means "dollars."

Example Sentences

Red Inlet Style Clam Chowder is one of the best chowders I have ever had the pleasure of tasting.

From Salon • Aug. 30, 2024

Three people sprinted across Garvey Avenue and into the Clam House, a seafood restaurant, where they begged owner Seung Won Choi to barricade the door.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2023

ZZ’s Club down here “evolved” — as Mr. Zalaznick put it — from ZZ’s Clam Bar in Greenwich Village into a members-only Japanese restaurant and club with a cigar and backgammon terrace.

From New York Times • Nov. 1, 2022

“You can definitely get it graded, and they are worth money,” Ballard Clam and Oysters spokesman Tim Parsons said to USA Today.

From Washington Times • Aug. 16, 2022

Clam out on the street looking like somebody.

From "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

Related Words

• mollusk