What does "hamper" mean?
A large basket, usually with a cover, used for the packing and carrying of articles or small animals.
Hamper
/ˈhæm.pɚ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A large basket, usually with a cover, used for the packing and carrying of articles or small animals.
- Grammar: hamper is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: afflicting, ail, anchor, arrest.
- Useful contrasts: industrial rise, advantage, aid.
- Usage evidence: A well-used creel might better not be picked as a picnic hamper.
How to use "hamper"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hamper" 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 "hamper" 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 "hamper" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hamper" 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 "hamper" is acting as 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 "afflicting" 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 "hamper", 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 large basket, usually with a cover, used for the packing and carrying of articles or small animals.
"a hamper of wine"
- 2 A shackle; a fetter; anything which impedes.
- 3 a basket usually with a cover wordnet
- 4 A wicker or plastic basket specifically for holding laundry (from clothes hamper). US
- 5 Articles ordinarily indispensable, but in the way at certain times.
"One afternoon there was a mighty queer noise aloft, which set the men running in every direction. It was the main-t'-gallant-mast. Crash! it broke off just above the cap, and held there by the rigging, dashed with every roll from side to side, with all the hamper that belonged to it."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner) wordnet
- 7 A gift basket. UK
Verb
- 1 To put into a hamper. transitive
"Competition pigeons are hampered for the truck trip to the point of release where the race back starts."
- 2 To put a hamper or fetter on; to shackle. transitive
"Near-synonym: hobble"
- 3 prevent the progress or free movement of wordnet
- 4 To impede in motion or progress.
"Engend'ring heats, these one by one unbind, Stretch their small tubes, and hamper'd nerves unwind."
- 5 put at a disadvantage wordnet
Example
"A well-used creel might better not be picked as a picnic hamper."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hamper"?
Common synonyms include: afflicting, ail, anchor, arrest, backlogs, bag.
How do you use "hamper" in a sentence?
A well-used creel might better not be picked as a picnic hamper.
How do you pronounce "hamper"?
Pronounced /ˈhæm.pɚ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English hamper, contracted from hanaper, hanypere, from Anglo-Norman hanaper, Old French hanapier, hanepier (“case for holding a large goblet or cup”), from hanap (“goblet, drinking cup”), from Frankish *hnapp (“cup, bowl, basin”), from Proto-Germanic *hnappaz (“cup, bowl”). Cognate with Old High German hnapf (“cup, bowl, basin”) (German Napf (“bowl”)), Dutch nap (“cup”), Old English hnæpp (“bowl”). More at nap.
Etymology 2
From Middle English hamperen, hampren (“to hamper, oppress”), probably of the same origin as English hamble (“to limp”), Scots hamp (“to halt in walking, stutter”), Dutch haperen (“to falter, hesitate”), German hemmen (“to stop, hinder, check”). More at hamble.