clump

noun

\ ˈkləmp

Definition of clump

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a group of things clustered together a clump of bushes

2 : a compact mass

3 : a heavy tramping sound

clump

verb

clumped; clumping; clumps

Definition of clump (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to walk or move clumsily and noisily

2 : to form clumps

transitive verb

: to arrange in or cause to form clumps

Other Words from clump Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about clump

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Examples of clump in a Sentence

Noun

There is a clump of bushes at the edge of the field. I could hear the clump of his footsteps as he came down the stairs.

Verb

The virus clumps the cells together. a child clumping around the house in her father's oversized boots

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

During this time, protein deposits in the brain form abnormal clumps that interrupt the way brain cells communicate, the Mayo Clinic explains. — Korin Miller, SELF, "Are There Early Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease to Watch For?," 28 Nov. 2018 And a clump of Cordie's mother's hair was found in the car, Berry said, indicating a violent altercation. — Gillian Flaccus, Fox News, "DA: Missing woman died instantly in jump from mom's car," 27 Sep. 2018 With clumps of people watching from their stoops or the sidewalk, fireworks whirred, popped and boomed just above the two-story houses near the 3500 block of 14th Street NW. — Reis Thebault, Washington Post, "Fourth of July celebrations more meaningful, worrisome for some Americans," 4 July 2018 This matters because nature doesn't necessarily arrange those microparticles randomly; there can be clumps, for instance, or the properties of certain materials would cause particles to be arranged fairly evenly apart. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "New software will let artists control how light interacts with objects," 30 Nov. 2018 Add butter and process until crumbs come together and form clumps, 15 to 20 seconds. — Jade Zimmerman, Country Living, "Rocky Road Pie," 1 Nov. 2018 The plants grow in tight, multi-stemmed clumps with mostly basal leaves. — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, "How to Grow Gorgeous Echinacea in Your Garden," 29 May 2018 Squeeze and rub ingredients together to form moist clumps and curds. — Aleksandra Crapanzano, WSJ, "A Luscious, Low-Maintenance Alternative to Apple Pie," 21 Nov. 2018 Most mascaras do me a disservice, creating clumps and those pointy clusters of lashes that were all the rage in the '60s. — Jenna Rennert, Vogue, "The Best Mascaras to Buy Now, According to Vogue Editors," 29 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Mexican officials reported in March that the wintering monarchs, clumped tightly in trees, covered 6.1 acres (2.5 hectares) last winter, a decline of 15 percent blamed in part on brutal storms that season. — Calvin Woodward, Fox News, "A makeover for milkweed, for the sake of butterflies," 31 July 2018 Without clumping, flaking, or smudging, my lashes are instantly transformed. — Lindsay Schallon, Glamour, "This Maybelline Mascara Is So Good, I Call It the Drugstore Diorshow," 16 Nov. 2018 These jets, whose material moves at nearly the speed of light, could help astronomers better understand the long-ago era when the universe's first stars formed and began clumping together, researchers said. — Fox News, "Superbright quasar could shed light on universe's youth," 10 July 2018 Other days, getting your curls to stay clumped together is like trying to get a toddler on a sugar high to stand still. — Jihan Forbes, Allure, "Five Editors Reveal Their Favorite Combinations of Curly-Hair Products," 2 July 2018 See, the freezer that the Germans launched has the ability to make atoms clump together in a cloud-like blob called a Bose-Einstein condensate—a phase of matter that exhibits some truly bizarre properties. — Sophia Chen, WIRED, "The Quest to Make Super Cold Quantum Blobs in Space," 25 June 2018 The number and variety of newspapers that continue to exist—in tiny towns with populations in four figures, at gas stations in poor rural counties, and in villages clumped near each other—give hope to even the most pessimistic observer. — The Economist, "Small-town American newspapers are surprisingly resilient," 21 June 2018 Kenneth Setzer Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Bambusa vulgaris — common bamboo — is a fast-growing, clumping bamboo, and has been cultivated into some wild forms lest it become too common. — Kenneth Setzer, miamiherald, "Need to screen off your neighbors? Here's how to grow a green privacy barrier," 27 June 2018 For example, if Enceladus's ocean were really salty (say, over 4 percent, which is a bit more than Earth's oceans) then the silicate particles would have chemically clumped together, former bigger lumps than were found. — William Herkewitz, Popular Mechanics, "Why the Warm Ocean on This Moon of Saturn Could Be Perfect for Life," 11 Mar. 2015

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'clump.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.