Synonyms

clambering

American

[klam-ber-ing, klam-er-] / ˈklæm bər ɪŋ, ˈklæm ər- /

noun

climbing or moving with effort or difficulty, typically using both hands and feet.

adjective

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

Etymology

Origin of clambering

clamber + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It was August 2013, and we were clambering up the majestic and regal unrealness that is Mt.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025

It's got the touchy-feely, we're-not-uptight family atmosphere, full of playful laughs and children clambering over their parents.

From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025

After clambering up three flights of a dark apartment-building stairwell, I entered Higatei, which celebrates all things awamori, an Okinawan rice-based spirit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 25, 2025

"I feel good; a little nervous, but I think it'll be fine. We'll hold on and give it everything!" said Nina Beeler, before clambering on board Cobra, an eight-year-old Swiss Brown cow.

From Barron's • Oct. 20, 2025

He was clambering heavily among the creepers and broken trunks when a bird, a vision of red and yellow, flashed upwards with a witch-like cry; and this cry was echoed by another.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023