as in to hush
to stop talking
the little girl clammed up when the doctor came into the room
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Recent Examples of clam up
Win your division, and the odds of winning the World Series improve.
I’m tempted to clam up right there because earning a wild-card berth can also lead to winning a World Series — see Bruce Bochy with the 2012 Giants and 2023 Rangers.
—
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2025
Again and again, West apologized to Ciara Miller for talking mess to the New York Times, handling their breakup poorly, and then clamming up all summer.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 30 May 2025
Meet Them At Their Comfort Level Some CEOs are great at being conversational and engaging on video; others clam up and want to use a script—which severely limits any feeling of authenticity.
—Elizabeth Baskin, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
While Lydia wallows in the residual pain, Paul has clammed up.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 12 Dec. 2024
While Lydia wallows in the residual pain, Paul has clammed up.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 12 Dec. 2024
Judges struggle to name favorite cheese Ask a judge to pick their favorite and most will clam up, dodge the question or offer a long, unranked list.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2024
One social worker said that a girl clammed up in a recent interview that her mother was invited to.
—Scooty Nickerson, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024
City clams up over chance of lawsuit Antoine Bryant, director of planning and development, apologized to City Council members for soliciting the contract to pay for the murals using city money without the nine-member body's approval, which is required.
—Detroit Free Press, 25 Jan. 2024
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2025
Again and again, West apologized to Ciara Miller for talking mess to the New York Times, handling their breakup poorly, and then clamming up all summer.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 30 May 2025
Meet Them At Their Comfort Level Some CEOs are great at being conversational and engaging on video; others clam up and want to use a script—which severely limits any feeling of authenticity.
—Elizabeth Baskin, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
While Lydia wallows in the residual pain, Paul has clammed up.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 12 Dec. 2024
While Lydia wallows in the residual pain, Paul has clammed up.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 12 Dec. 2024
Judges struggle to name favorite cheese Ask a judge to pick their favorite and most will clam up, dodge the question or offer a long, unranked list.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2024
One social worker said that a girl clammed up in a recent interview that her mother was invited to.
—Scooty Nickerson, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024
City clams up over chance of lawsuit Antoine Bryant, director of planning and development, apologized to City Council members for soliciting the contract to pay for the murals using city money without the nine-member body's approval, which is required.
—Detroit Free Press, 25 Jan. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clam up
Verb
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That’s where Panthers players continued their week-long celebration — Cats also lead the NHL in celebrating — as Conn Smythe playoffs MVP and pending free agent Sam Bennett took the mic as the crowd hushed.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
22 June 2025
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Game 2 is on Sunday. 3h ago / 8:07 PM PDT Share Home crowd has gone silent Andrew Greif Reporting from Oklahoma City Tyrese Haliburton hits a go-ahead jumper with 0.3 of a second left to take a 111-110 lead and the home crowd has hushed in stunned disbelief.—
Greg Rosenstein,
NBC news,
6 June 2025
Verb
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And so, without the corporate donations typically fueled by Pride partnerships, even that private sector support is drying up.—
Brett F. Braley-Palko,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
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The budget is a complex document — with money streaming in or drying up from sources with different spending rules.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
23 June 2025
Verb
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Time to put up or shut up ... After lengthy production delays at Amazon's satellite factory, the retail giant is finally churning out Kuiper satellites at scale.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
27 June 2025
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In Ono’s understanding, then, university presidents are to shut up and do as they are told.—
David Niven,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clam up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clam%20up. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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