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.

---

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.

---

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

---

verb

1. (intr) to gather clams

clam ² British  

/ klæm /

verb

1. a variant of clem

---

clam Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing clam

• happy as the day is long (as a clam)

---

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

Example Sentences

Occasionally a herd of hippocamps would come and swim alongside the boats, or a mermaid would approach a fisherman, playing a tune on a flute made from a razor clam.

From Literature

Anyone beyond the land of candlepin bowling and cringing at red clam chowder thought they had a better shot at finishing at the bottom of the standings than reaching the Super Bowl.

From The Wall Street Journal

The MoJ has vehemently denied clams of medical mistreatment and the Care Quality Commission, a watchdog, has not opened any investigation.

From BBC

Normally so open in his media conferences, Amorim clammed up when he was asked to explain something he said on Christmas Eve about his preferred style of play.

From BBC

To avoid disturbing the sites further, the team relied on radiocarbon dating of clam shells and deer bones that were originally collected some 50 years ago.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• mollusk