clam up
Britishverb
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.
The question prompts Epstein to clam up: “Send me a number to call I don’t like records of these conversations.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
Another factor is “just having extreme social anxiety for a long, long time. People were fascinating to me, but also scary. I would kind of clam up around people because my brain would short-circuit.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2024
While Mr. Watts thrived on the stage, recording was more of a challenge; he said he was prone to clam up without an audience.
From New York Times • Jul. 14, 2023
JPMorgan said an important part of its more positive view on European CRE was the willingness of European banks to continue providing finance to the sector as wholesale funding markets have started to clam up.
From Reuters • Mar. 28, 2023
So I just clam up, sit back, and look at the TV.
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
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.
