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

Taiwan, which manufactures advanced computing components, is under pressure to find ways to clamp down.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

As China, India and other countries move to clamp down on these drugs, some argue that restricting access further could create different dangers.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 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

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

As the government clamps down on overseas workers, migrants spoke to AFP about working in the shadows.

From Barron's ● Dec. 19, 2025

They were locked in place by those ski boot clamps.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Meanwhile, Paris recently clamped down on safety requirements for e-scooter users, having banned rental e-scooters outright in 2023.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

China, which supplies 10% of the world’s fertilizer exports, clamped down on its exports in February and tightened them further in April, contributing to the rising costs.

From Salon ● May 15, 2026

A DHS spokeswoman said Noem serves at the pleasure of the president and has successfully clamped down on inefficiencies to save billions of dollars, calling her efforts “a roaring success.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

At first, Koffi clamped her mouth firmly shut, as though she planned on saying nothing at all.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

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

The PM has to walk a very fine line between clamping down on them and selling the UK as a good place for them to be.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

Then I found the stage and I found my voice and instead of clamping it down, I could let it out, whatever it was, wherever it came from.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

Instead, the father expressed outrage at the hospital for not delaying the clamping of the umbilical cord.

From Salon ● May 7, 2026

Copernicus published his magnum opus on his deathbed—in 1543, just before the church started clamping down on new ideas.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Related Words

• clench
• impose