noun

clam

klam

noun

An edible shellfish with two hinged shells, found buried in sand or mud.

"We dug for clams along the shoreline at low tide."

"The soup was full of tender clams."

Informal: a dollar.

"That jacket cost me fifty clams."

verb

To go silent or refuse to speak, especially used as "clam up."

"He clammed up as soon as the police started asking questions."

How to Use Clam

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA shellfish with a hinged shell — or, informally, a dollar, or (as "clam up") to suddenly stop talking.

Common pairings

clam up dig for clams clam chowder

Word Forms

clammer comparative, clammed past tense, clammed past tense, clammed past tense, clams plural, clams plural, clams singular, clams singular, clams singular, clammest superlative

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We dug for _____ along the shoreline at low tide.

Etymology

From Old English clam ("bond, grip"), related to a word meaning to press or squeeze together — the shellfish sense comes from how tightly its shell clamps shut.

Rhymes for clam

lam flam slam glam blam Elam Islam Salam bedlam Hallam Malayalam

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