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
-
were hamperingprogressive
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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
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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:
And as SpaceX allocates satellite-launch services for its own use, a launch bottleneck is gripping the wider industry and could hamper AST SpaceMobile’s ability to send satellites into space.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
The government argued that training AI on written works is “exceedingly transformative” and doesn’t hamper the market or the value of the copyrighted work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Tesla is recalling nearly three million cars in China with interior door handles that could hamper a person's ability to exit their vehicle in an emergency, Beijing's national market watchdog said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
They face a host of challenges, including damaged hospitals and clinics, which hamper efforts to treat people, said Adib Fletcher, a senior director at Project Hope, a humanitarian relief organization.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Jaw clenched, I turn the stupid hamper around so the hole is in the back and carefully close the closet door.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
The skills deficit hampers new grads as they are trying to launch themselves, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
A Hormuz bottleneck has taken its toll on global oil supply and snarled supply chains, while the targeting of energy infrastructure last week hampers energy production capacity.
From Barron's ● Mar. 22, 2026
A shortage of components such as electrical transformers and gas turbines hampers data-center construction, and operators struggle to secure the immense amounts of electrical power required to run computing clusters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
She added that hampers of food are given to all service users, "so that they feel wanted and they feel appreciated".
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2025
A train of mules trailed behind them, carrying chests and ~ casks and barrels, and hampers of delectables to keep the lord of cheese from growing peckish.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
The recovery has also been hampered by damage to regional refineries, continued attacks on infrastructure and limited storage capacity, said Sumit Ritolia, analyst at Kpler.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Special teams miscues and penalties hampered the Rams in the first half, and they trailed 13-7 at halftime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
And a home debut hampered by an early red card.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The authority hired a falconer and a hawk, but it failed to successfully deter the birds and the plan was hampered by opponents to the measure scattering large quantities of bird feed.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
Lou, hampered by a leg muscle he’d injured on the first morning of the trek to Base Camp, was slow but competent.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Police across the UK have said face coverings are hampering their efforts to identify potential offenders.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
In recent days, wind gusts reaching 80 kilometres per hour had grounded aircraft for safety reasons, hampering firefighting efforts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
Mr. Montefiore says the West’s “self-regarding secularism,” is hampering our understanding of the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Despite firefighting efforts, strong winds are fanning flames and hampering containment operations - with local media reporting that firefighting aircraft have been unable to fly on Thursday morning.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
With the hampering help of my sisters I made the little doghouse.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
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