clamber
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
clambers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
clambered,
past participle, past
-
clambering
present participle
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
clambersimple
-
clamberssimple
-
have clamberedperfect
-
has clamberedperfect
-
am clamberingprogressive
-
are clamberingprogressive
-
is clamberingprogressive
-
have been clamberingperfect progressive
-
has been clamberingperfect progressive
Past
-
clamberedsimple
-
had clamberedperfect
-
was clamberingprogressive
-
were clamberingprogressive
-
had been clamberingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of clamber
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English clambren, equivalent to clamb- (akin to climb ) + -r- -er 6 + -en infinitive suffix
Explanation
To clamber is to climb awkwardly. Hamlet's Ophelia was said to have been clambering on a weak branch of a willow when she met her "muddy death." It's never a good idea to clamber, let alone on weak willow branches. We associate the word clamber far more often with toddlers (than Shakespearean tragedy). Toddlers are known for naturally clumsy, ill-coordinated movements we deem cute not foolish. Suitably enough, the word comes from the delightful and long obsolete Middle English word clamb, meaning the past tense of climb, a word that has all the happy logic of a toddler's imagination.
Vocabulary lists containing clamber
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Where the Red Fern Grows
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It is her way of culling the weaklings; she will care only for the cubs that survive the fall and clamber back up to the bridge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The roar of engines fills the night air in China's Chongqing city as tourists awkwardly clamber onto gleaming motorbikes and cling to muscular drivers to star in personalised videos.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Those lucky enough to snap out of psychosis and regain touch with the tangible world are now building support groups online to help others clamber out.
From Slate ● Feb. 2, 2026
From inside the restaurant, the guys would clamber up to the roof, wait for the “all clear” and then get right back to busing tables, washing dishes and cooking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2024
Normally they clamber around me until I feel like Gulliver among the Lepidopterans.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Out clambers the man who runs security for Esh Kodesh and the surrounding outposts.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2023
Nyayien Yow, a widowed mother of five, scrapes together a living by paddling out into the floodwater by canoe, where she clambers up semi-submerged trees to collect firewood for sale in a local market.
From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2023
Hafen clambers up on a rock and points to where the power line will run — marring the landscape.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2022
In a separate clip, also filmed from the crush of the crowd of several hundred people, a woman clambers over the wall.
From Reuters ● Aug. 19, 2021
The Turk holding the rope clambers into the boat.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
Army personnel lowered themselves from the helicopter and clambered up a muddy slope to pull out people covered in mud.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
The three, adrenaline pumping, clambered through the pancaked wreckage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
CHORNOBYL, Ukraine—When Ukrainian emergency workers clambered onto a damaged structure above Reactor No. 4 at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, there were eerie echoes of 1986.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
She ended the set having clambered over a barrier to be among fans.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Fred clambered up the chain link door and, remembering what he’d seen Reginald do, locked his mouth on its latch.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
I soon found myself clambering on hands and knees in my swim shorts into a dirt-floored dome made from sticks and blankets, and sitting cross-legged as red-hot volcanic stones were laid in a central pit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Obviously, clambering up and down the dangerously steep pass, ferrying goods on horseback or by mule or — for a few wacky, experimental months in the mid-1850s, Army camels — wasn’t workable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
After clambering up three flights of a dark apartment-building stairwell, I entered Higatei, which celebrates all things awamori, an Okinawan rice-based spirit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025
"I feel good; a little nervous, but I think it'll be fine. We'll hold on and give it everything!" said Nina Beeler, before clambering on board Cobra, an eight-year-old Swiss Brown cow.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2025
He hung for a moment, his armpit against the spar, and knew that his light was futile against the fog; nevertheless he adjusted the flame higher before clambering down.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
