clam

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈklam 

: clamp, clasp

clam

2 of 5

noun (2)

often attributive

1

a

: any of numerous edible marine bivalve mollusks living in sand or mud

b

: a freshwater mussel

2

: a stolid or closemouthed person

3

: clamshell

4

informal : dollar sense 1

Illustration of clam

• a incurrent orifice
• b siphon
• c excurrent orifice
• d mantle
• e shell
• f foot

clam

3 of 5

verb (1)

clammed; clamming

intransitive verb

: to gather clams especially by digging

clammer

ˈkla-mər 

noun

clem

4 of 5

verb (2)

ˈklem

variants or clam

ˈklam 

clemmed or clammed; clemmed or clammed; clemming or clamming; clems or clams

transitive verb

dialectal, England : to cause to suffer from hunger, thirst, or cold : starve

intransitive verb

dialectal, England : to suffer from hunger, thirst, or cold

clem

5 of 5

noun (3)

"

plural -s

slang

: a fight or brawl especially between circus or carnival workers and the local townsfolk

Synonyms of clam

Noun (2)

• dollar
• buck

Examples of clam in a Sentence

Noun (2)

it must take a whole lot of clams to buy a car like that

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Head south to the coast’s whale-watching capital in Depoe Bay for tours and some of the famed clam chowder at Gracie’s Sea Hag. — Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 16 Aug. 2026

To avoid getting Vibrio vulnificus, the health department suggests avoiding raw oysters or other raw shellfish and cooking shellfish like oysters, clams, mussels thoroughly before ingesting them. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026

Verb

Along the Atlantic coast of Europe a cancer riddles the golden carpet shell clam, Polititapes aureus, yet genotyping showed its cells are not that clam’s at all. — John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Unlike clamming, a crab harvest depends entirely on the traps, which take about three to four hours to check. — Kasha Patel, CNN Money, 18 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English clamm bond, fetter; akin to Old High German klamma constriction and perhaps to Latin glomus ball

Noun (2)

clam entry 1; from the clamping action of the shells

Verb (2)

Middle English clemmen to pinch

Noun (3)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1520, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

1676, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing clam

• (as) happy as a clam
• butter clam
• clam up
• clam worm
• giant clam
• hard clam
• hard-shell clam
• Manhattan clam chowder
• pismo clam
• razor clam
• round clam
• soft-shell clam
• surf clam

Rhymes for clam

• am
• bam
• cham
• damme
• damn
• dram
• flam
• fram
• gram
• ham
• jam
• jamb

Kids Definition

clam

1 of 2 noun

ˈklam 

1

: any of numerous edible marine mollusks that have two hinged shells and live in sand or mud

2

: a freshwater mussel

clam

2 of 2 verb

clammed; clamming

: to dig or gather clams