cramp

¹

[kramp]

noun

1. Often cramps

   1. a sudden, involuntary, spasmodic contraction of a muscle or group of muscles, especially of the extremities, sometimes with severe pain.

   2. a piercing pain in the abdomen.

   3. an intermittent, painful contraction of structures of a wall containing involuntary muscle, as in biliary colic or in the uterine contractions of menstruation or of labor.

2. writer's cramp.

verb (used with object)

1. to affect with or as if with a cramp.

cramp

²

[kramp]

noun

1. cramp iron.

2. a portable frame or tool with a movable part that can be screwed up to hold things together; clamp.

3. anything that confines or restrains.

4. a cramped state or part.

verb (used with object)

1. to fasten or hold with a cramp.

2. to confine narrowly; restrict; restrain; hamper.

3. to turn (the front wheels of a motor vehicle) by means of the steering gear; steer.

adjective

1. cramped.

cramp

¹

/ kræmp /

noun

1. Also called: cramp iron. a strip of metal with its ends bent at right angles, used to bind masonry

2. a device for holding pieces of wood while they are glued; clamp

3. something that confines or restricts

4. a confined state or position

verb

1. to secure or hold with a cramp

2. to confine, hamper, or restrict

3. informal,  to prevent a person from using his abilities or acting freely and confidently

cramp

²

/ kræmp /

noun

1. a painful involuntary contraction of a muscle, typically caused by overexertion, heat, or chill

2. temporary partial paralysis of a muscle group

   writer's cramp

3. (usually plural in the US and Canada) severe abdominal pain

verb

1. (tr) to affect with or as if with a cramp

Other Word Forms

• crampingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of cramp¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English crampe, from Old French, from Germanic; cognate with Middle Dutch crampe, Old Saxon krampo, Old High German krampfo; derivative of an adjective meaning “narrow, constrained, bent”; compare Old High German krampf, Old Norse krappr; akin to crimp ¹

Origin of cramp²

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English crampe, crompe, from Middle Dutch; cramp ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of cramp¹

C15: from Middle Dutch crampe cramp, hook, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German khramph bent; see _cramp ¹

Origin of cramp²

C14: from Old French crampe, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German krampho

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. cramp one's style, to prevent one from showing one's best abilities.

Example Sentences

Mary-Ellen Conway, 78, of Houston, has taken two statins over several years but got leg cramps taking one, while her LDL cholesterol levels were higher than she wanted on the other medicine.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Though it opened well after Hemingway’s time, he would admire the bar’s seamless operation, the dishes emerging with military precision on a cramped night like this.

Read more on Salon

The cramped cabin had three small portholes, radio equipment, and instrument panels.

Read more on Literature

An August 2024 report by the prison's independent monitoring board found inmate numbers in the "cramped, squalid" prison, had grown to 1,513.

Read more on BBC

The museum, a monumental structure overlooking the Giza Plateau, contrasts sharply with the colonial-era, cramped Egyptian Museum in central Cairo.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• ache 
• constipation 
• contraction 
• convulsion 
• pain 
• stiffness 
• twinge