CLAM • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Clam

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/klæm/ Listen

noun

Clam n.

1.

(Zool.) A bivalve mollusk of many kinds, especially those that are edible; as, the long clam (Mya arenaria), the quahog or round clam (Venus mercenaria), the sea clam or hen clam (Spisula solidissima), and other species of the United States. The name is said to have been given originally to the Tridacna gigas, a huge East Indian bivalve. "You shall scarce find any bay or shallow shore, or cove of sand, where you may not take many clampes, or lobsters, or both, at your pleasure." "Clams, or clamps, is a shellfish not much unlike a cockle; it lieth under the sand."

2.

(Ship Carp.) Strong pinchers or forceps.

3.

pl. (Mech.) A kind of vise, usually of wood.

Blood clam. See under Blood.

Clam n. Claminess; moisture. (R.) "The clam of death."

Clam n. A crash or clangor made by ringing all the bells of a chime at once.

verb

Clam v. t. & v. i. To produce, in bell ringing, a clam or clangor; to cause to clang.

Clam v. t. (past & past part. clammed; pres. part. clamming) To clog, as with glutinous or viscous matter. "A swarm of wasps got into a honey pot, and there they cloyed and clammed Themselves till there was no getting out again."

Clam v. i. To be moist or glutinous; to stick; to adhere. (R.)

See images of 'Clam'

Etymology of 'Clam'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

"Clam" Quotes from Famous Books

... especially were we interested in the ducks on Fern Hollow creek. Dora insisted upon feeding them a piece of bread. "Calamity," the dog, was along, of course, and as he belonged to William Pitt, who called him "Clam," he was always in that boy's company. It was, "Love me, love my dog," with William; and as he was a professional of some kind, he was greatly prized by ...

— Our Young Folks at Home and Abroad • Various

... making himself as agreeable as he could to the young ladies on the cliffs above. It is true there was an angle in the cliffs which concealed his approach from the eye, and the soft sand deadened the sound of footsteps to the ear; but both the money-digger and the clam-digger would have deemed it impossible for any one to come into their presence without being heard. But then both of them were absorbed in the unearthing of the treasure, and Leopold made so much noise with his shovel that the sound ...

— The Coming Wave - The Hidden Treasure of High Rock • Oliver Optic

... "the clam'rous rooks Ask for their wonted seat, but ask in vain! Their ancient home is level'd with the earth, Never to wave again its leafy head, Or yield a covert to the feather'd choir, Who now, with broken song, remote and shy, Seek other bowers, ...

— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction - Volume 14, No. 396, Saturday, October 31, 1829. • Various

... them in a pot, with just water enough to prevent the shells burning at the bottom of the pot. Heat them till the shells open—take the clams out of them, and warm them with a little of the clam liquor, a little salt, butter, and pepper. Toast a slice or two of bread, soak it in the clam liquor, lay it in a deep dish, and turn the clams on to it. For clam pancakes, mix flour and milk together to form a thick batter—some cooks ...

— The American Housewife • Anonymous

... Stretched on the platform, side by side and crowded close, lay a score of blacks. That they were low in the order of human life was apparent at a glance. They were man-eaters. Their faces were asymmetrical, bestial; their bodies were ugly and ape- like. They wore nose-rings of clam-shell and turtle-shell, and from the ends of their noses which were also pierced, projected horns of beads strung on stiff wire. Their ears were pierced and distended to accommodate wooden plugs and sticks, pipes, ...

— Adventure • Jack London

Copyright © 2024 Free Translator.org