clambake

[ klam-beyk ]

/ ˈklæmˌbeɪk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR clambake ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a picnic or social gathering at the seashore at which clams and other seafood are baked, sometimes with corn and other items, traditionally on hot stones under a covering of seaweed.

Informal. any social gathering, especially a very noisy one.

Nearby words

clam up, clam-diggers, clam-flat, clamant, clamatorial, clambake, clamber, clambering, clammy, clamor, clamorous

Origin of clambake

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; clam¹ + bake

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for clambake

One of these was an Indian clambake, neatly paved and piled with ashes and unopened clam shells.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, December 1899|Various
That name was on the stone before I joined you at the clambake.
Frank Merriwell's Cruise|Burt L. Standish
There was to be a grand excursion and clambake at Setuckit Beach and all hands was going—four catboats full.
Cape Cod Stories|Joseph C. Lincoln
"Oh, yes, your dolls can come to the clambake," agreed Bunny.
Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Christmas Tree Cove|Laura Lee Hope

"That's one way to keep cool at a clambake," grinned the man in gray.
Frank Merriwell's Cruise|Burt L. Standish

British Dictionary definitions for clambake

clambake

/ (ˈklæmˌbeɪk) /

noun US and Canadian

a picnic, often by the sea, at which clams, etc, are baked

an informal party

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012