clambering

[klam-ber-ing, klam-er-]

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adjective Botany.

of or relating to plants that creep or climb like vines, but without benefit of tendrils.

Origin of clambering

clamber + -ing¹

clamber

[klam-ber, klam-er]

verb (used with or without object)

to climb, using both feet and hands; climb with effort or difficulty.

noun

an act or instance of clambering.

Origin of clamber

1325–75; Middle English clambren, equivalent to clamb- (akin to climb) + -r- -er⁶ + -en infinitive suffix

Related formsclam·ber·er, noun

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

Related Words for clambering

climb, scale, scramble

Examples from the Web for clambering

Contemporary Examples of clambering

While clambering over the fifth wall, he fell and broke his foot.
Chen Guangcheng Tells The Daily Beast, ‘I Still Want to Leave China’
Melinda Liu
May 3, 2012

Historical Examples of clambering

I have been sliding off and clambering on ever since I bade goodbye to Havant.
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle
And Pete was clambering up the wall by the side of the dairy window.
The Manxman
Hall Caine
Wading in the water, leaping over the stones, clambering on the trunks—aw, dear!
The Manxman
Hall Caine
After that he lighted the fuse, and, clambering down the slope of rock, saw Gordon.
The Greater Power
Harold Bindloss
A moment later he was heard clambering into the boat and then clambering out.
Lord Jim
Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for clambering

clamber

verb

(usually foll by up, over, etc) to climb (something) awkwardly, esp by using both hands and feet

noun

a climb performed in this manner

Derived Formsclamberer, noun

Word Origin for clamber

C15: probably a variant of climb

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

Word Origin and History for clambering

clamber

"to climb with difficulty using hands and feet," late 14c., possibly frequentative of Middle English climben "to climb" (preterit clamb), or akin to Old Norse klembra "to hook (oneself) on." Related: Clambered; clambering.