clambake

American  

[klam-beyk] / ˈklæmˌbeɪk /

noun

1. 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.

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

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clambake British  

/ ˈklæmˌbeɪk /

noun

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

2. an informal party

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Etymology

Origin of clambake

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; clam ¹ + bake

Example Sentences

I live in a city apartment with no outdoor space, but that doesn’t stop me from regularly making a full-on New England-style clambake for dinner.

From Washington Post • Aug. 25, 2022

Headlining a Rockingham County Democrats annual clambake, she zeroed in on the state’s soaring student loan debt.

From Fox News • May 22, 2019

And even with the clambake, you bring these great flourishes.

From Salon • Mar. 9, 2019

One producer is quoted discussing the pride she took in organizing a staff clambake and wine tasting.

From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2016

On one occasion, that of a grand political mass-meeting in favour of General Harrison on the 4th of July, 1840, nearly 10,000 persons assembled in Rhode Island, for whom a clambake and chowder was prepared.

From Nature and Human Nature by Haliburton, Thomas Chandler

Related Words

• association
• caucus
• collection
• conclave
• conference
• congregation
• convention
• crowd
• function
• group
• mass
• meeting
• party
• throng