soft-shell clam

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noun

an edible clam, Mya arenaria, inhabiting waters along both coasts of North America, having an oval, relatively thin, whitish shell.

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Also called long clam, long-neck clam, soft clam, steamer, steamer clam.

Origin of soft-shell clam

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800

Words nearby soft-shell clam

soft science, soft sculpture, soft sell, soft serve, soft-shell, soft-shell clam, soft-shell crab, soft-shelled turtle, soft-shoe, soft shoulder, soft sign

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use soft-shell clam in a sentence

There were stomachs, taut and flat, but also undulating bellies, soft and bloated from the breakfast buffet.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Their friends noticed, and asked Sabrine to talk to him to bring him out of his shell a little.
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Francis is well into his seventies, looks it, has a mild demeanor and soft speaking style; but his rhetoric is electrifying.
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My surgeon told me my bones were so soft he could barely install the screws.
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Of course, with such a soft-handed approach comes criticism from the Danish right.
What the U.S. Can Learn from Europe About Dealing with Terrorists|Scott Beauchamp|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And once more, she found herself desiring to be like Janet--not only in appearance, but in soft manner and tone.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
A few small rocks of some soft stone may be added, and in between these the Ferns are planted.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
His face flushed with annoyance, and taking off his soft hat he began to beat it impatiently against his leg as he walked.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Off flew the shell, seven miles it flew; over the Turkish Army from one sea into another.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
The delicious soft rains set in early, promising a good grain year.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson

British Dictionary definitions for soft-shell clam

soft-shell clam

noun

any of several marine clams of the genus Mya, esp M. arenaria, an edible species of coastal regions of the US and Europe, having a thin brittle shellSometimes shortened to: soft-shell Compare quahog

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