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

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Etymology

Origin of clamp

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

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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

At the time, Starmer argued that mandatory digital ID for workers would make it easier to clamp down on immigrants working illegally and modernise the state.

From BBC ● Jul. 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

He has previously spoken out against measures to clamp down on illegal migration, and called the US administration's treatment of immigrants "inhuman".

From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026

Matt felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder and pull him out of the line.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

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

In the following months he bought accessories such as awning screw-in pegs for £15.98 and wheel clamps and keys for £119.98.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

They put the clamps on during the second half, when they held the Lakers to 37 points.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Dec. 19, 2025

She stretches out her arms in exasperation and then clamps them over her head.

From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan

It bent over, clamped the cord with its pincers and tucked the cord along a shelf to clear a path.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

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

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

He took cues on how both clamped down better than anyone else in the red zone, where they each allowed opponents to convert touchdowns just 37% of the time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

“You’re not going to be here that long. In fact”—he leaned back in his swivel chair and clamped his hands behind his head—“I don’t even want to know why you’re here.”

From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli

He told reporters he was clamping down in response to “a whole bunch of developers who were acting in unscrupulous ways who were running roughshod over our communities.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

But clamping down risks damaging the dollar’s dominance, as countries look for alternatives such as China’s yuan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 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

Cokayne's brave turnover, clamping down in the shadow of her own posts, repelled that attack.

From BBC ● May 17, 2026

Nerving himself, he did it in one clean move, clamping his paws heavily into the weatherworn sandstone groove.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

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Related Words

• clench
• impose

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