quahog
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of quahog
An Americanism dating back to 1745–55; from Narragansett ( English spelling) poquaûhock
Explanation
A quahog is a kind of edible clam with a very hard shell. In the U.S., you're most likely to see quahogs on the menu in New England, New York, or New Jersey (not so much in Montana). Quahogs are sometimes called "hard clams," "round clams," or "chowder clams," since they're commonly used to make clam chowder. Native Americans in New England once used quahog shells (especially purple ones) to make a kind of bead called wampum that was used as a gift or for trading. The word quahog comes from the Narragansett poquauhock, meaning "hard clam."
Vocabulary lists containing quahog
Scrabble: Words that Begin with Q
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The Adoration of Jenna Fox
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Beyond the Bright Sea
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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.
And the ocean quahog, a type of clam that can live more than 500 years, making it the longest living animal, is predicted to struggle.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2025
Most quahog clams found in U.S. waters are between 2.8 and 4.3 inches long, although they can grow larger.
From Washington Post • Mar. 11, 2023
Plath records their prodigious feats of eating: quahog fritters, onion soup, stews, meat loaf, lobster dinners, all fastidiously itemized, as though for later reimbursement.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 29, 2018
Tom Hazard, the protagonist of Haig’s new novel, is old — old “in the way that a tree, or a quahog clam, or a Renaissance painting is old,” he tells us.
From New York Times • Feb. 22, 2018
He straightens and looks at me like I just coughed up a quahog.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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.
