clamp
[ klamp ]
/ klæmp /
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noun
verb (used with object)
to fasten with or fix in a clamp.
Verb Phrases
clamp down, to become more strict: There were too many tax loopholes, so the government clamped down.
clamp down on, to impose or increase controls on.
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Origin of clamp
1350–1400; Middle English (noun) <Middle Dutch clampe clamp, cleat; cognate with Middle Low German klampe
OTHER WORDS FROM clamp
un·clamped, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use clamp in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for clamp (1 of 2)
clamp1
/ (klæmp) /
noun
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
See also wheel clamp
a means by which a fixed joint may be strengthened
nautical a horizontal beam fastened to the ribs for supporting the deck beams in a wooden vessel
verb (tr)
Word Origin for clamp
C14: from Dutch or Low German klamp; related to Old English clamm bond, fetter, Old Norse kleppr lump
British Dictionary definitions for clamp (2 of 2)
clamp2
/ (klæmp) British agriculture /
noun
a mound formed out of a harvested root crop, covered with straw and earth to protect it from winter weather
a pile of bricks ready for processing in a furnace
verb
(tr) to enclose (a harvested root crop) in a mound
Word Origin for clamp
C16: from Middle Dutch klamp heap; related to clump
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Medical definitions for clamp
clamp
[ klămp ]
n.
An instrument for the compression or grasping of a structure.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.