hamper
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
hampers,
present (3rd person singular)
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hampered,
past participle, past
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hampering
present participle
noun
noun
-
a large basket or wickerwork receptacle, usually with a cover.
picnic hamper;
clothes hamper.
-
British. such a basket together with its contents, especially food.
noun
-
a large basket, usually with a cover
-
such a basket and its contents, usually food
-
a laundry basket
verb
noun
Usage
What does hamper mean? To hamper means to hold back or impede something or someone, as in The road crew hampered traffic, causing a line of cars that went back for miles. Figuratively, hamper can mean to interfere with or diminish, as in The singers practicing in the next room really hampered my ability to study. Related to this in nautical terms, a hamper is gear that is necessary but gets in the way. There is another sense of the noun hamper that comes from a different origin. This hamper is a large basket, often made of wicker (or something that looks like wicker) and having a cover. Most often, this type of hamper is associated with dirty clothes (a laundry or clothes hamper), but there are lots of things a hamper can hold, like a picnic lunch or small toys. Example: I hope this rain doesn’t end up hampering the party at all.
Synonym Usage
See prevent.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hampersimple
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hamperssimple
-
have hamperedperfect
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has hamperedperfect
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am hamperingprogressive
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are hamperingprogressive
-
is hamperingprogressive
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have been hamperingperfect progressive
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has been hamperingperfect progressive
Past
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hamperedsimple
-
had hamperedperfect
-
was hamperingprogressive
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were hamperingprogressive
-
had been hamperingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hamper1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English hampren; akin to Old English hamm “enclosure,” hemm hem 1
Origin of hamper2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English hampere, variant of hanypere hanaper
Explanation
Anything that hampers slows progress or makes it difficult to do something. You might think that the presence of your parents hampers your ability to look cool. The verb hamper is for those times when normal progress is slow but not shut down completely. Hamper often describes travel during bad weather, like icy conditions that could hamper holiday travel. Hamper means "slow going." You may have heard of noun form of hamper, a container for holding dirty laundry: If your hamper is full, the need to do laundry could hamper your plans of going out and having fun.
Vocabulary lists containing hamper
Where the Red Fern Grows
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The Week in Words: March 24 - 30, 2018
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Wit, Wisdom, AND Vocabulary from Those We Lost in 2015
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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:
Authorities in Nanning have warned that "extremely heavy rain" could hamper rescue efforts.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
The state’s powerful doctors’ lobby, the California Medical Assn., also opposes the measure, arguing it would ban clinics from keeping funding in reserves and hamper their ability to upgrade equipment or expand to new locations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
Reduced fundraising could hamper lending by private-credit funds, potentially affecting investment and triggering defaults for borrowers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Owning tanks placed on customer property can protect DCC from competitors, but it can also hamper its ability to expand as rivals take the same approach, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
It was bigger than the picnic hamper and looked like an orange crate, streaming water.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
Earlier this year, former England defender Anita Asante suggested extended gaps between league games hampers momentum and rhythm for fans.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
It also stressed the need for greater transparency around how social media works as "opaque algorithms and content moderation hampers the ability of young users to understand why certain content is recommended, suppressed or removed".
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
The skills deficit hampers new grads as they are trying to launch themselves, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
At 2.25%, the main rate sits at the low end of the central bank’s estimate for neutral, or the level at which policy neither stimulates nor hampers growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
She wanted him to help her carry the heavy boxes and hampers of silver to the chaise.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
A foot injury severely hampered her pre-season training before she spent two and a half months off court with a post-viral illness after initially falling unwell in early February.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Executives later said the prolonged legal battle hampered the company’s ability to compete, particularly as streaming rivals accelerated their investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
DWP officials concede they’re hampered by budget restraints, manpower limitations, long project timelines and the sizable footprint of the repairs needed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Everyone I spoke with described the current process of tracing foodborne illnesses as laborious and slow and hampered by an absence of a unified approach.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Iofur was hampered now by that chainmail, because from a protection it had changed all at once into a hindrance: it was still fastened at the bottom, and trailed around his rear legs.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
But it has struggled against a lack of enforcement power and several nations -- notably China, Israel, Russia and the United States -- do not recognise its jurisdiction, hampering its ability to investigate their nationals.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
The world’s leading AI labs are grappling with how to prevent or mitigate damage by malevolent users without hampering well-intentioned research queries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Or that a player could be less likely to ask for the physio in fear of hampering their own team.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Winds of up to 50 mph stoked the flames and severely limited the fire response by hampering boat and aircraft access to the remote island.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
With the hampering help of my sisters I made the little doghouse.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
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.
