clamp

American  

[klamp] / klæmp /

noun

• clamps
  plural

1. a device, usually of some rigid material, for strengthening or supporting objects or fastening them together.

2. an appliance with opposite sides or parts that may be adjusted or brought closer together to hold or compress something.

3. one of a pair of movable pieces, made of lead or other soft material, for covering the jaws of a vise and enabling it to grasp without bruising.

4. Also called clamp rail. Carpentry. a rail having a groove or a number of mortises for receiving the ends of a number of boards to bind them into a flat piece, as a drawing board or door.

5. Nautical.

   1. a horizontal timber in a wooden hull, secured to ribs to support deck beams and to provide longitudinal strength.

   2. mast clamp.

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verb (used with object)

• clamps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• clamped,
  past participle,  past
• clamping
  present participle

1. to fasten with or fix in a clamp.

   Synonyms:

   secure, clench, clinch

verb phrase

1. clamp down on to impose or increase controls on.

2. clamp down to become more strict.

   There were too many tax loopholes, so the government clamped down.

clamp ¹ British  

/ klæmp /

noun

1. a mechanical device with movable jaws with which an object can be secured to a bench or with which two objects may be secured together

2. See also wheel clamp

3. a means by which a fixed joint may be strengthened

4. nautical a horizontal beam fastened to the ribs for supporting the deck beams in a wooden vessel

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verb

1. to fix or fasten with or as if with a clamp

2. to immobilize (a car) by means of a wheel clamp

3. to inflict or impose forcefully

   they clamped a curfew on the town

clamp ² British  

/ klæmp /

noun

1. a mound formed out of a harvested root crop, covered with straw and earth to protect it from winter weather

2. a pile of bricks ready for processing in a furnace

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verb

1. (tr) to enclose (a harvested root crop) in a mound

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unclamped
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• clamps
  plural

Participles

• clamping
  present
• clamped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• clamp
  simple
• clamps
  simple
• have clamped
  perfect
• has clamped
  perfect
• am clamping
  progressive
• are clamping
  progressive
• is clamping
  progressive
• have been clamping
  perfect progressive
• has been clamping
  perfect progressive

Past

• clamped
  simple
• had clamped
  perfect
• was clamping
  progressive
• were clamping
  progressive
• had been clamping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will clamp
  simple
• will have clamped
  perfect
• will be clamping
  progressive
• will have been clamping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of clamp

1350–1400; Middle English (noun) < Middle Dutch clampe clamp, cleat; cognate with Middle Low German klampe

Explanation

A clamp is a tool that's used to secure two things tightly together. When you repair a chair, it's best to use a clamp to hold the glued pieces together firmly. Carpenters, woodworkers, and plumbers all use clamps when they want to hold things together while they wait for glue to dry or need their hands free. When you use this kind of device, you can also say you clamp something: "Clamp that board down for me before I turn the saw on." Clamp most likely shares a Germanic root with the word clam — *klam-, "to press together."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clamp clamps clamped clamping

And though the US and Pakistan's oil firms have pressured Pakistan's government to clamp down on the practice, it has struggled to police remote parts of the 900km border.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

By the time regulators clamp down on a specific flavor of risky investing, the money has already moved elsewhere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Elfers also said it was very common for a boat engine, which does not have a closed cooling system like a car, to have a hose that pops or a hose clamp that fails.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

For this study, the Yale team successfully used a dual patch clamp technique on fully intact mouse retinas.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

Samuel’s voice was unsteady with trying to clamp his laughter in.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

If your vehicle doesn’t come with a set, I recommend finding a cable with a thick gauge, good insulation, durable clamps, and a good length.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

And then there's old-style physical devices - steering wheel locks or even wheel clamps.

From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026

The Chargers’ defense did an impressive job of putting the clamps on New England’s offense — some nifty runs by Maye notwithstanding — but the offense couldn’t turn those efforts into points.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2026

And as Miami prepares to face No. 6 Ole Miss in the national semifinal, they’ll aim to put the clamps on star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026

A vise clamps its jaws around my heart.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

Sister Carren Herring asked as the Haitian man walked toward the field office, where he would reemerge from hours later with a GPS tracker clamped around an ankle.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

It drives me absolutely bonkers that the industry hasn’t clamped down on it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

Some of them work by gently blowing air across the fabric, making it flutter and lift, so that it can then be sucked towards a gripper and clamped into place, for example.

From BBC ● May 18, 2026

Photographic processes of the day called for lengthy camera exposures, which required that sitters be clamped into metal immobilizers to hold their heads steady.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

His eyes were clamped shut, and his face was as ashen as the dead.

From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles

In those areas the group maintains a tight grip, clamping down on dissent and still recruiting fighters.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

At one booth, visitors pointed their phones at a humanoid wearing an apron as it gingerly reached for a toy chicken drumstick before clamping down and lifting the fake meat into a bucket.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Now, private-credit firms are clamping down on the option, known as payment in kind, or PIK.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

While the law has given many areas until 2040 to address overpumping, some local agencies have started clamping down.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Now the song was over, but the hug was still happening, Callum’s hand clamping the fuzz of my green sweater.

From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee

Related Words

• clench
• impose