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

clammed; clamming

intransitive verb

: to gather clams especially by digging

clammer

ˈkla-mər 

noun

clammer

4 of 5

noun (3)

clam·​mer ˈkla-mər 

plural -s

: one that digs, dredges, tongs, or rakes for clams

clammer

5 of 5

noun (4)

clam·​mer ˈkla-mər 

plural -s

: clamper entry 4

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

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

The oldest of these clam cancers infects the soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria, of the North American coast. — John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 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) and Noun (4)

clam entry 1; from the clamping action of the shells

and Noun (3)

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1520, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

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