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clam
1[ klam ]
/ klæm /
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noun
any of various bivalve mollusks, especially certain edible species.Compare quahog, soft-shell clam.
Informal. a secretive or silent person.
Slang. a dollar or the sum of a dollar: I only made 60 clams a week.
verb (used without object), clammed, clam·ming.
to gather or dig clams.
Verb Phrases
clam up, Slang. 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.
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Origin of clam
1OTHER WORDS FROM clam
clamlike, adjectiveclammer, nounWords nearby clam
Other definitions for clam (2 of 2)
Origin of clam
2before 1000; Middle English; Old English, derivative of clamm fetter, grasp; cognate with German Klamm fetter; akin to clamp
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use clam in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for clam (1 of 2)
clam1
/ (klæm) /
noun
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
the edible flesh of such a mollusc
informal a reticent person
verb clams, clamming or clammed
(intr) mainly US to gather clams
See also clam up
Word Origin for clam
C16: from earlier clamshell, that is, shell that clamps; related to Old English clamm fetter, Old High German klamma constriction; see clamp 1
British Dictionary definitions for clam (2 of 2)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Other Idioms and Phrases with clam
clam
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.