Clam Definition
klăm
clammed, clamming, clams
noun
clams
Any of various hard-shell, usually edible, bivalve mollusks, some of which live in the shallows of the sea, others in fresh water.
Webster's New World
The soft, edible part of such a mollusk.
Webster's New World
A close-mouthed person, especially one who can keep a secret.
American Heritage
A reticent or taciturn person.
Webster's New World
Webster's New World
verb
clammed, clamming, clams
To dig, or go digging, for clams.
Webster's New World
To produce, in bellringing, a clam or clangor; to cause to clang.
Wiktionary
To be moist or glutinous; to stick; to adhere.
Wiktionary
To clog, as with glutinous or viscous matter.
Wiktionary
idiom
clam up
- to keep silent or refuse to talk
Webster's New World
Other Word Forms of Clam
Noun
Singular:
clamPlural:
clamsIdioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Clam
Origin of Clam
From Middle English clam (“pincers, vice, clamp”), from Old English clamm (“bond, fetter, grip, grasp”).
From Wiktionary
From obsolete clam-shell shell that clamps, clam from clam
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Middle English from Old English clam, clamm bond, fetter
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Clam Is Also Mentioned In
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