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clamp

[ klamp ]
/ klæmp /
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See synonyms for: clamp / clamps on Thesaurus.com

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, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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