What does "clamp" mean?
A brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things that are apart together.
Clamp
/klæmp/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things that are apart together.
- Grammar: clamp is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: affix, alum, anchor, annex.
- Useful contrasts: allow, dog, encourage.
- Usage evidence: A wise businessman knows how to clamp down on costs.
How to use "clamp"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "clamp" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "clamp" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "clamp" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "clamp" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "clamp" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "affix" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "clamp", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things that are apart together.
- 2 A heavy footstep; a tramp. dated
- 3 a device (generally used by carpenters) that holds things firmly together wordnet
- 4 An instrument used to temporarily shut off blood vessels, etc.
- 5 A parking enforcement device used to immobilise a car until it can be towed or a fine is paid; a wheel clamp. UK
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A pile of materials to be heated in a controlled way, stacked or heaped together with fuel so that the fire permeates the pile; the material of interest may be bricks to be fired, ore for roasting, coal for coking, or wood to be charcoalized.
"[T]he pots would be stacked in a heap, covered with wood chippings and brushwood and domed over with turves, leaving a few air vents around the sides. When complete the clamp would be fired[.]"
- 7 A compact pile of agricultural produce (such as root vegetables or silage) used for temporary storage (often covered with straw, earth, or both).
- 8 A piece of wood (batten) across the grain of a board end to keep it flat, as in a breadboard.
- 9 An electronic circuit that fixes either the positive or the negative peak excursions of a signal to a defined value by shifting its DC value.
Verb
- 1 To fasten in place or together with (or as if with) a clamp. intransitive, transitive
"As we burst into the room, the Count turned his face, and the hellish look that I had heard described seemed to leap into it. His eyes flamed red with devilish passion. The great nostrils of the white aquiline nose opened wide and quivered at the edge, and the white sharp teeth, behind the full lips of the blood dripping mouth, clamped together like those of a wild beast."
- 2 To tread heavily or clumsily; to clump or clomp. dated, intransitive
"the policeman with clamping feet"
- 3 impose or inflict forcefully wordnet
- 4 To hold or grip tightly. transitive
- 5 fasten or fix with a clamp wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 To modify (a numeric value) so it lies within a specific range by replacing values outside the range with the closest value within the range. transitive
"After the depth range is clamped, the depth value is read from the depth stencil buffer, and the two values are compared with a selectable depth-comparison function […]"
- 7 To cover (vegetables, etc.) with earth. UK, obsolete, transitive
- 8 To immobilise (a vehicle) by means of a wheel clamp. transitive
"I was only parked there for five minutes but my car was still clamped."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"A wise businessman knows how to clamp down on costs."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "clamp"?
Common synonyms include: affix, alum, anchor, annex, artery clamp, astringent.
How do you use "clamp" in a sentence?
A wise businessman knows how to clamp down on costs.
How do you pronounce "clamp"?
Pronounced /klæmp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch clamp, klampe (“a clamp, hook”), from Proto-Germanic *klampō (“clamp, clasp, cramp”), related to Proto-West Germanic *klammjan. Cognate with Middle Low German klampe (“hook, clasp”), German Klampfe, Klampe (“clamp, cleat”), Norwegian klamp (“clamp”), Alemannic German Chlempi.
Etymology 2
Imitative.
Etymology 3
From clamp, a metonymic occupational surname for someone who worked with this tool.