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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

clam.

A bivalve mollusk of many kinds, especially those that are edible; for example soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria), hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria), sea clams or hen clams (Spisula solidissima), and other species, possibly originally applied to clams of species Tridacna gigas, a huge East Indian bivalve.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/klæm/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[kleəm] ~ [klɛəm]/klam/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/klæːm/Australia
  1. A bivalve mollusk of many kinds, especially those that are edible; for example soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria), hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria), sea clams or hen clams (Spisula solidissima), and other species, possibly originally applied to clams of species Tridacna gigas, a huge East Indian bivalve.

  2. A type of strong pincers or forceps.

    historical · in-plural
  3. A kind of vise, usually of wood.

  4. A dollar.

    US · in-plural · slang
    Those sneakers cost me fifty clams!
  5. A Scientologist.

    derogatory · slang
  6. A vagina or vulva.

    slang · vulgar
  7. A wrong or misplaced note.

    slang
  8. One who clams up; a taciturn person, one who refuses to speak.

    informal
  9. mouth (Now found mostly in the expression shut one's clam)

    US · dated · slang
Where this word comes from

From Middle English clam (“pincers, vice, clamp”), from Old English clam (“bond, fetter, grip, grasp”), from Proto-West Germanic *klammjan (“press, squeeze together”). The sense “dollar” may allude to wampum. The sense "Scientologist" alludes to the Scientologist belief that human thetans (souls) previously inhabited clams.

verb/klæm/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[kleəm] ~ [klɛəm]/klam/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/klæːm/Australia
  1. To dig for clams.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English clam (“pincers, vice, clamp”), from Old English clam (“bond, fetter, grip, grasp”), from Proto-West Germanic *klammjan (“press, squeeze together”). The sense “dollar” may allude to wampum. The sense "Scientologist" alludes to the Scientologist belief that human thetans (souls) previously inhabited clams.

noun/klæm/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[kleəm] ~ [klɛəm]/klam/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/klæːm/Australia
  1. A crash or clangor made by ringing all the bells of a chime at once.

verb/klæm/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[kleəm] ~ [klɛəm]/klam/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/klæːm/Australia
  1. To produce, in bellringing, a clam or clangor; to cause to clang.

adj/klæm/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[kleəm] ~ [klɛəm]/klam/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/klæːm/Australia
  1. Clammy.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English clammen, clemen (“to smear, bedaub”), from Old English clǣman (“to smear, bedaub”). Cognate with German klamm (“clammy”). See also clammy (“damp, cold and sticky”) and clem (“to adhere, stick, plug (a hole)”).

noun/klæm/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[kleəm] ~ [klɛəm]/klam/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/klæːm/Australia
  1. clamminess; moisture

Where this word comes from

From Middle English clammen, clemen (“to smear, bedaub”), from Old English clǣman (“to smear, bedaub”). Cognate with German klamm (“clammy”). See also clammy (“damp, cold and sticky”) and clem (“to adhere, stick, plug (a hole)”).

verb/klæm/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[kleəm] ~ [klɛəm]/klam/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/klæːm/Australia
  1. To be moist or glutinous; to stick; to adhere.

  2. To clog, as with glutinous or viscous matter.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English clammen, clemen (“to smear, bedaub”), from Old English clǣman (“to smear, bedaub”). Cognate with German klamm (“clammy”). See also clammy (“damp, cold and sticky”) and clem (“to adhere, stick, plug (a hole)”).

noun/klæm/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[kleəm] ~ [klɛəm]/klam/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/klæːm/Australia
  1. Alternative form of CLAM.

    alt-of · alternative
verb/klæm/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[kleəm] ~ [klɛəm]/klam/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/klæːm/Australia
  1. Alternative form of clem (“to starve”).

    alt-of · alternative
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.