1
as in clusters
a number of things considered as a unit
scattered clumps of houses were visible from the air
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in shuffles
to move heavily or clumsily
a child clumping around the house in her father's oversized boots
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of clumps
Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 25 Jan. 2026
Gather the clumps of hair and dispose of them before vacuuming any remaining bits.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Jan. 2026
Some of the Hoosiers hopped about their Hard Rock Stadium locker room late Monday night, clumps of them doing knee-wobbling dances amidst an air thick with cigar smoke, joy and relief.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 20 Jan. 2026
During the drying cycle, stop the dryer and massage the coat with your hands to help break up any down clumps.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 14 Jan. 2026
Divide the clumps every two years and replant some of the bulbs.
—Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2026
How could there not be something glittery and white, not trees or rocks or twists and dippings of the ground or clumps of bushes, little gullies where the water runs infrequently.
—David Searcy, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
People with Alzheimer’s tend to have clumps of proteins called amyloid plaques that accumulate around the brain cells.
—Carrie Madormo, Verywell Health, 6 Nov. 2025
Brandi Jones, Health, 15 Jan. 2026
Cocoa powder often clumps in its container.
—Erin Merhar, Southern Living, 11 Dec. 2025
Young stars form within collapsing clouds of gas and dust, which flatten into broad protoplanetary disks where material gradually clumps into larger bodies.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 5 Dec. 2025
The alum then clumps the smaller, suspended fats together for easy removal.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 21 Aug. 2025
Noun
On its voyage through intergalactic space, that light traverses countless clumps of dark matter.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 25 Jan. 2026
Gather the clumps of hair and dispose of them before vacuuming any remaining bits.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Jan. 2026
Some of the Hoosiers hopped about their Hard Rock Stadium locker room late Monday night, clumps of them doing knee-wobbling dances amidst an air thick with cigar smoke, joy and relief.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 20 Jan. 2026
During the drying cycle, stop the dryer and massage the coat with your hands to help break up any down clumps.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 14 Jan. 2026
Divide the clumps every two years and replant some of the bulbs.
—Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2026
How could there not be something glittery and white, not trees or rocks or twists and dippings of the ground or clumps of bushes, little gullies where the water runs infrequently.
—David Searcy, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
People with Alzheimer’s tend to have clumps of proteins called amyloid plaques that accumulate around the brain cells.
—Carrie Madormo, Verywell Health, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
However, sometimes the abnormal IgA (the antibody that clumps up and causes problems) does run in families.
—Brandi Jones, Health, 15 Jan. 2026
Cocoa powder often clumps in its container.
—Erin Merhar, Southern Living, 11 Dec. 2025
Young stars form within collapsing clouds of gas and dust, which flatten into broad protoplanetary disks where material gradually clumps into larger bodies.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 5 Dec. 2025
The alum then clumps the smaller, suspended fats together for easy removal.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clumps
Noun
-
However, proto-clusters, or still-forming galaxy clusters, appear far earlier.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
2 Feb. 2026
-
To create the most impactful small flower bed, pinpoint a few key areas in your front yard and plant clusters of perennials rather than attempting to fill entire garden beds, says Janney.—
Michelle Mastro,
Martha Stewart,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Other companies, including Amazon, Meta, and Pinterest — all of which have made major investments in AI — have recently announced plans to cut significant chunks of their workforce, indicating even more troubling days ahead.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Indeed, some emergency routes have huge mountains of snowy ice chunks obstructing more than one lane of the road because the snowplows could not move the snow to the side of the road due to all of the bike lane obstacles .—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Tristan returns home and greets James while Siegfried shuffles the woman out the window.—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
-
That is not unique — Major League Baseball’s offseason shuffles along at a deliberate pace, just as the Dodgers historically have liked.—
Katie Woo,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Working in batches as needed, arrange in a single layer in air-fryer basket.—
Jenavieve Christensen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Usually beer is blended from multiple different, unpredictable batches of beer to create a balanced, complex product.—
Don Tse,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Idris the Valentine’s cow stomps in the footsteps of Squishmallows’ viral strawberry cow and the subsequent bestselling blueberry cow.—
Jacquelyn Smith,
Parents,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Oscar-winning composer Daniel Blumberg was tasked with layering in claps, stomps and screams.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Use those wads of wrapping paper leftover from a birthday, baby shower, or holiday bash to stuff the bottom and sides of the box and prevent shifting during shipping.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
25 Dec. 2025
-
Hanging ornaments with care can be one of the highlights of the holiday season, but untangling wads of string lights is far less enjoyable.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Repeatedly, the project seems to transcend the projects, defying gravity in its poetic depiction of how this resilient, supportive community comes together around Lil Ant, stepping in where his father stumbles to embrace the boy.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Soon after, Bradley stumbles on Zuri’s body and confronts Linda, resulting in a brutal fight that includes stabbing, scalp ripping, and some really upsetting eye gouging.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Given the enormous energy needs of AI and limits on available land for placing massive arrays of solar panels—not to mention all the red tape—building new AI data centers will be much cheaper in orbit, where solar panels are five times more effective than on the ground.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
6 Feb. 2026
-
So the L1Ts rely on integrated circuits called field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), which users can reprogram for specialized calculations.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clumps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clumps. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
