clambering

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

/ ˈklæm bər ɪŋ, ˈklæm ər- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR clambering ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective Botany.

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

RELATED WORDS

climb, scale, scramble

Nearby words

Origin of clambering

clamber + -ing¹

clamber

[ klam-ber, klam-er ]

/ ˈklæm bər, ˈklæm ər /

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
Old Hinch was clambering into the wagon and had his best foot on the hub of a wheel.
Dominie Dean|Ellis Parker Butler
Rose vines, clambering at will over the picturesque old dwelling, were a riot of colors.
Sisters|Grace May North
As Paul Lambrequin was clambering up the stairs of his rooming house, he met a man whose face was all wrong.
My Fair Planet|Evelyn E. Smith

I don't know whether it was his delicacy or his obesity which prevented Davidson from clambering upon the wharf.
Victory|Joseph Conrad
And clambering down, he stumbled on with a reckless haste that contrasted strangely with his speech.
Tomaso's Fortune and Other Stories|Henry Seton Merriman

British Dictionary definitions for clambering

clamber

/ (ˈklæmbə) /

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.