Dictionary.com

clem

[ klem ]
/ klɛm /
Save This Word!

verb (used with or without object), clemmed, clem·ming.British Dialect.

to starve.

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!

Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!
Question 1 of 12
On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.
it's
its
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of clem

1530–40; akin to Middle English forclemmed (past participle) pinched with hunger, Old English beclemman to fetter

Words nearby clem

cleistocarpous, cleistogamous, cleistogamy, cleistothecium, Cleland, clem, clemastine fumarate, clematis, Clemenceau, Clemenceau, Georges, clemency

Definition for clem (2 of 2)

Clem
[ klem ]
/ klɛm /

noun

a male given name, form of Clement.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for clem

British Dictionary definitions for clem

clem

clam

/ (klɛm) /

verb clems, clemming, clemmed, clams, clamming or clammed

(when tr, usually passive) English dialect to be hungry or cause to be hungry

Word Origin for clem

C16: of Germanic origin; related to Dutch, German klemmen to pinch, cramp; compare Old English beclemman to shut in
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
What's This Word?