clamshell

[ klam-shel ]

/ ˈklæmˌʃɛl /

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noun

the shell of a clam.

an object that has two hinged parts and that opens and closes like a clamshell, as a laptop computer or a box with a cover joined on one side: This clamshell is lightweight, convenient, and as powerful as my desktop computer.

Machinery.

Also called clamshell bucket . a dredging bucket opening at the bottom, consisting of two similar pieces hinged together at the top.
a machine equipped with such a bucket.

Printing. a platen press.

adjective

of or noting an object that opens and closes like a clamshell: a clamshell phone; clamshell packaging.

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Origin of clamshell

1490–1500; earlier clam-shell;see clam¹, shell

Words nearby clamshell

clamour, clamp, clampdown, clamp down on, clamper, clamshell, clamshell door, clam up, clamworm, clan, Clancy

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

How to use clamshell in a sentence

Logee’s once considered plastic clamshell packaging, but Amy Miller, production manager at the Connecticut-based company, says that type of container only works well when most of your plants are the same size and shape.
How to ship your beloved houseplants across the country without killing them|John Kennedy|June 22, 2021|Popular-Science
Plastic waste — all those bags, fast-food clamshells, water bottles and the like — is a massive global problem.
Vanilla flavoring made from plastic bottles? Scientists show how bacteria can transform waste.|Emily Heil|June 15, 2021|Washington Post
They also found that unlike the tight eukaryotic nucleosomes, the Slinky-like archaeasomes flop open stochastically, like clamshells.
DNA’s Histone Spools Hint at How Complex Cells Evolved|Viviane Callier|May 10, 2021|Quanta Magazine
Using computer simulations and electron microscopy experiments on the genetic material of Methanothermus fervidus, a heat-loving archaeal species, the researchers found the Slinky-like shapes opened and closed in a clamshell motion.
Archaea microbes fold, twist and contort their DNA in extreme ways|Emiliano Rodríguez Mega|March 11, 2021|Science News

However, it does so with a more traditional clamshell design.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go review: Goldilocks and the three SKUs|Jeff Dunn|November 7, 2020|Ars Technica
And so Ab slid down the tree, clamshell in hand, and began laboring vigorously at the spot agreed upon.
The Story of Ab|Stanley Waterloo
It was not a difficult task for a strong boy to cut through tough grass roots with the keen edge of the clamshell.
The Story of Ab|Stanley Waterloo
The co-pilot closed the clamshell doors, and it became possible to hear oneself think again.
Space Platform|Murray Leinster
It ended astern in a clumsy-looking bulge that was closed by a pair of huge clamshell doors, opening straight astern.
Space Platform|Murray Leinster
He was eyeing the clamshell and looking more and more uneasy.
Tish, The Chronicle of Her Escapades and Excursions|Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for clamshell

clamshell

/ (ˈklæmˌʃɛl) /

noun

mainly US a dredging bucket that is hinged like the shell of a clam

aeronautics

an aircraft cockpit canopy hinged at the front and rear
the hinged door of a cargo aircraft
another name for eyelid (def. 2)

any of a variety of objects hinged like the shell of a clam, such as a container for takeaway food, a portable computer, etc

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