clump

[ kluhmp ]

/ klʌmp /

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See synonyms for: clump / clumped on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small, close group or cluster, especially of trees or other plants.

a lump or mass

a heavy, thumping step, sound, etc.

Immunology. a cluster of agglutinated bacteria, red blood cells, etc.

a thick extra sole on a shoe.

verb (used without object)

Also clomp

[klomp] /klɒmp/ . to walk heavily and clumsily.

Immunology. to gather or be gathered into clumps; agglutinate.

verb (used with object)

to gather or form into a clump; mass.

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Origin of clump

First recorded in 1580–90; akin to Dutch klompe “lump, mass,” Old English clympre “lump of metal”

OTHER WORDS FROM clump

clumpy, clumpish, clumplike, adjective

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

How to use clump in a sentence

Downtown Wilmington resembles a random exurb, except for the clump of drab buildings blistered with bank logos and Interstate 95 cleaving the place in two.
Lovely, little Delaware — long famous for corporations, chickens and credit cards — is ready for its big moment|Karen Heller|January 12, 2021|Washington Post
Tailgaters tailgated in wee family clumps only, like the lonely couple at garage’s edge.
Alabama advances to the national title game with an artful offensive performance|Chuck Culpepper, Des Bieler|January 2, 2021|Washington Post
These clumps could then be sprayed with a waterproof coating, so that if they encountered any humidity they wouldn’t dissolve, thereby preventing the iron within from reacting with the iodine.
One man’s crusade to end a global scourge with better salt|Katie McLean|December 18, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The dough should be crumbly and form clumps if pressed between fingers.
A one-bowl sheet-pan cookie so easy a child taught me how to make it|Ann Maloney|December 3, 2020|Washington Post

Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the dough, and then press them into the surface of the dough, avoiding big clumps of chocolate.
A one-bowl sheet-pan cookie so easy a child taught me how to make it|Ann Maloney|December 3, 2020|Washington Post
The shape is supposed to keep humidity and grease from making your salt clumpy and disgusting.
The 2012 Holiday Kitchen Gift Guide|Megan McArdle|December 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Their clumpy heads blend ill with the spiry tops of the juniors.
Woodland Gleanings|Charles Tilt
This causes it to be clumpy — that is, not straight like most wild roots.
Ginseng and Other Medicinal Plants|A. R. (Arthur Robert) Harding
The lips and cheeks bristled with that kind of hard, clumpy beard which old priests have who have always shaved themselves.
L-bas|J. K. Huysmans

British Dictionary definitions for clump

clump

/ (klʌmp) /

noun

a cluster, as of trees or plants

a dull heavy tread or any similar sound

an irregular massa clump of hair or earth

an inactive mass of microorganisms, esp a mass of bacteria produced as a result of agglutination

an extra sole on a shoe

slang a blow

verb

(intr) to walk or tread heavily

to gather or be gathered into clumps, clusters, clots, etc

to cause (bacteria, blood cells, etc) to collect together or (of bacteria, etc) to collect together

(tr) slang to punch (someone)

Derived forms of clump

clumpy, adjectiveclumpiness, noun

Word Origin for clump

Old English clympe; related to Middle Dutch klampe heap of hay, Middle Low German klampe clamp ², Swedish klimp small lump

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

clump

Origin of clump

OTHER WORDS FROM clump

Words related to clump

How to use clump in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for clump

Derived forms of clump

Word Origin for clump