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
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The Witch of Blackbird Pond
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Where the Red Fern Grows
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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:
Driver Andriy, 53, is one of the first Ukrainian faces many of the freed soldiers see as they clamber onto his bus.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 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
"Five more minutes, and I would have left you," the pilot tells the reporters as they clamber back in, the chopper stuttering up and banking over the town's remains.
From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025
Not everyone who attempts to clamber across the falls is as lucky.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2025
We clamber out, half stupid with sleep, and dump our bags on the ground.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
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
With a cheery farewell, Kerry clambers into the driver's seat and heads off, back over the hills towards their Keswick home.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2020
A young woman clambers into the back of the cab, and it pulls out into the cold and the rain.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
Crews clambered in to find Sanjaya Shah and Kabir Maharjan - both had injuries on their hands and legs, "possibly" from crawling through the tunnel.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Trujillo placated the dog with peanut butter and they clambered over a wall into the Franco backyard, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 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
The first person Andreeva turned to hug when she clambered up to the players' box after her victory on Court Philippe Chatrier was Martinez.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
They didn’t seem to care, just clambered up the hill again, not noticing the plants they trampled.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
There, I joined a dozen young locals clambering aboard a rustic barge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Dramatic video showed a man clambering from his balcony through a neighbour's window to escape the black smoke.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
It was August 2013, and we were clambering up the majestic and regal unrealness that is Mt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025
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
We keep to the woods as long as we can, clambering over fallen trees and beating our way through thorn bushes.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
Definitions 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.
