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

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

The fiber comes from byssus threads produced by Pinna nobilis, a large Mediterranean clam that uses these threads to attach itself to rocks.

From Science Daily • Feb. 9, 2026

A serving of a Boston-centric alternative, canned clam chowder, would bump the meal up to $3.64.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

“It may just be a picture that was taken after lunch, and he has a piece of Windsor clam or something in there, I don’t know.”

From Slate • Jul. 15, 2025

Invasive species such as the overbite clam consumed the zooplankton on which juvenile smelt had fed, toxic chemicals in farm runoff fouled the waters.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2025

By the time the old boneshaker finally took to the road, the empty plastic bag and bottle were at his feet, and he was gnawing the last clam off the stick.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Related Words

• mollusk