as in climbing
to move (as up or over something) often with the help of the hands in holding or pulling
clambered over a wall and was never seen again
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Recent Examples of clambering
The piece is a collection of disused shoemaker boxes, once used by cobblers to keep tools, pressed against each other and stacked up, clambering toward the ceiling.
—
Edna Bonhomme, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025
By the end of the night, so many fans had crowd-surfed from the pit to the stage, clambering onto the platform, that the band members were barely visible.
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 16 Sep. 2025
Even back on board, the show continues after dark, with pelicans and reef sharks drawn to the yacht’s lights and sea lions sometimes clambering onto the aft deck.
—Rachel Ingram, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
After clambering back onto the platform, medics took him to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition with face injuries, cops said.
—John Annese, New York Daily News, 10 Aug. 2025
On the night before the verdict, they were joined by more than a dozen journalists, clambering for the best angle of their emerging messages, pasted up on walls already crowded by other snippets of testimony and poetry.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024
This once meant waiting in long lines outside stores like Walmart and Best Buy in the early morning hours, clambering over one another to snag electronics, beauty items, and other unaffordable gifts at a steal.
—Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Dec. 2024
Even now, original — meaning freshly made, conceptually new — Christmas rom-coms are clambering out of the trenches, not only on Hallmark and Lifetime, which owned the breed for a while, but on Netflix and Hulu and everywhere else seeking to grab a slice of that cinnamon-scented, sentimental pie.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2024
After clambering up a ladder into the truck, Killeen, 76, tucked her hair back into a ponytail, settled down on the bench seat and watched as Weppner's truck rolled down the island's main thoroughfare, Midnight Pass Road.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 11 Oct. 2024
Edna Bonhomme, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025
By the end of the night, so many fans had crowd-surfed from the pit to the stage, clambering onto the platform, that the band members were barely visible.
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 16 Sep. 2025
Even back on board, the show continues after dark, with pelicans and reef sharks drawn to the yacht’s lights and sea lions sometimes clambering onto the aft deck.
—Rachel Ingram, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
After clambering back onto the platform, medics took him to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition with face injuries, cops said.
—John Annese, New York Daily News, 10 Aug. 2025
On the night before the verdict, they were joined by more than a dozen journalists, clambering for the best angle of their emerging messages, pasted up on walls already crowded by other snippets of testimony and poetry.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024
This once meant waiting in long lines outside stores like Walmart and Best Buy in the early morning hours, clambering over one another to snag electronics, beauty items, and other unaffordable gifts at a steal.
—Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Dec. 2024
Even now, original — meaning freshly made, conceptually new — Christmas rom-coms are clambering out of the trenches, not only on Hallmark and Lifetime, which owned the breed for a while, but on Netflix and Hulu and everywhere else seeking to grab a slice of that cinnamon-scented, sentimental pie.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2024
After clambering up a ladder into the truck, Killeen, 76, tucked her hair back into a ponytail, settled down on the bench seat and watched as Weppner's truck rolled down the island's main thoroughfare, Midnight Pass Road.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 11 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clambering
Verb
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Mostly sunny skies are expected on Friday, with temperatures climbing to the upper 50s in the afternoon, a few degrees above the average of 54 degrees for this time of year.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
13 Mar. 2026
-
In turn, the team has grown throughout the first half of the season, climbing to 27th in the first official NCAA RPI release and 22nd in the first KPI release.—
Matt Murschel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Having activities lined up ahead of time means parents aren’t scrambling for ideas in the moment — a strategy that benefits the whole family.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
9 Mar. 2026
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Video shows protesters and police officers scrambling to get away from where the device landed.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN Money,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clambering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clambering. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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