clump

[kluhmp]

noun

1. a small, close group or cluster, especially of trees or other plants.

2. a lump or mass

3. a heavy, thumping step, sound, etc.

4. Immunology.,  a cluster of agglutinated bacteria, red blood cells, etc.

5. a thick extra sole on a shoe.

verb (used without object)

1. Also clomp to walk heavily and clumsily.

2. Immunology.,  to gather or be gathered into clumps; agglutinate.

verb (used with object)

1. to gather or form into a clump; mass.

clump

/ klʌmp /

noun

1. a cluster, as of trees or plants

2. a dull heavy tread or any similar sound

3. an irregular mass

   a clump of hair or earth

4. an inactive mass of microorganisms, esp a mass of bacteria produced as a result of agglutination

5. an extra sole on a shoe

6. slang,  a blow

verb

1. (intr) to walk or tread heavily

2. to gather or be gathered into clumps, clusters, clots, etc

3. to cause (bacteria, blood cells, etc) to collect together or (of bacteria, etc) to collect together

4. slang,  (tr) to punch (someone)

Other Word Forms

• clumpy adjective
• clumpish adjective
• clumplike adjective
• clumpiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of clump¹

First recorded in 1580–90; akin to Dutch klompe “lump, mass,” Old English clympre “lump of metal”

Word History and Origins

Origin of clump¹

Old English clympe; related to Middle Dutch klampe heap of hay, Middle Low German klampe _clamp ², Swedish klimp small lump

Example Sentences

"It shows how the building blocks of galaxies gradually transitioned from chaotic clumps into ordered structures, and how galaxies such as the Milky Way formed."

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Their results suggest that during the "cosmic dark ages," dark matter gathered into dense clumps across space, pulling in hydrogen gas that emitted intense radio waves.

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A team from the University of Cambridge, UCL, the Francis Crick Institute, and Polytechnique Montréal developed a powerful imaging approach that allows scientists to visualize, count, and compare these protein clumps in human brain tissue.

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An X-ray showed the magnets had clumped together in four straight lines inside the child's intestines.

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But it is also important for everyday products that you do not want to clump together, such as cosmetics.

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Related Words

• blob 
• bundle 
• chunk 
• cluster 
• hunk 
• jumble 
• knot 
• lump 
• wad