clamp

[ klamp ]

noun

1. a device, usually of some rigid material, for strengthening or supporting objects or fastening them together.
2. an appliance with opposite sides or parts that may be adjusted or brought closer together to hold or compress something.
3. one of a pair of movable pieces, made of lead or other soft material, for covering the jaws of a vise and enabling it to grasp without bruising.
4. Also called clamp rail. Carpentry. a rail having a groove or a number of mortises for receiving the ends of a number of boards to bind them into a flat piece, as a drawing board or door.
5. Nautical.
   1. a horizontal timber in a wooden hull, secured to ribs to support deck beams and to provide longitudinal strength.
   2. mast clamp.

verb (used with object)

1. to fasten with or fix in a clamp.

   Synonyms: secure, clench, clinch

verb phrase

1. to impose or increase controls on.
2. to become more strict:

   There were too many tax loopholes, so the government clamped down.

clamp

¹

/ klæmp /

noun

1. a mound formed out of a harvested root crop, covered with straw and earth to protect it from winter weather
2. a pile of bricks ready for processing in a furnace

verb

1. tr to enclose (a harvested root crop) in a mound

clamp

²

/ klæmp /

noun

1. a mechanical device with movable jaws with which an object can be secured to a bench or with which two objects may be secured together
2. See also wheel clamp
3. a means by which a fixed joint may be strengthened
4. nautical a horizontal beam fastened to the ribs for supporting the deck beams in a wooden vessel

verb

1. to fix or fasten with or as if with a clamp
2. to immobilize (a car) by means of a wheel clamp
3. to inflict or impose forcefully

   they clamped a curfew on the town

Other Words From

• un·clamped adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of clamp¹

1350–1400; Middle English (noun) < Middle Dutch clampe clamp, cleat; cognate with Middle Low German klampe

Word History and Origins

Origin of clamp¹

C16: from Middle Dutch klamp heap; related to clump

Origin of clamp²

C14: from Dutch or Low German klamp; related to Old English clamm bond, fetter, Old Norse kleppr lump

Example Sentences

Not only did the PA leave an abdominal drain - used to remove excess fluid from her body - in for 15 hours longer than permitted, but he also told colleagues to clamp it, increasing the risk of infection.

From BBC

A new pay framework for chief executives will be published in April, which will "clamp down" on poor performance while rewarding success.

From BBC

Less than a week after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, the Republican president-elect announced that he plans to appoint Homan as his “border czar,” one of many signs Trump will act swiftly and decisively on his campaign promise to secure the border and clamp down on illegal immigration.

From Los Angeles Times

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the government was taking "bold action" to create a smoke-free generation, "clamp down on kids getting hooked on nicotine through vapes" and protect the vulnerable from the dangers of second-hand cigarette smoke.

From BBC

To another, the university has become a site of repression against Muslim, Arab and Palestinian American voices, with excessive security patrols and strict free expression rules that clamp down on pro-Palestinian protesters and their demands that the university divest from ties to Israel’s military.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• clench
• impose