clamp

Noun

1. A brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things that are apart together.
2. An instrument used to temporarily shut off blood vessels, etc.
3. (UK) A parking enforcement device used to immobilise a car until it can be towed or a fine is paid; a wheel clamp.
4. A pile of materials to be heated in a controlled way, stacked or heaped together with fuel so that the fire permeates the pile; the material of interest may be bricks to be fired, ore for roasting, coal for coking, or wood to be charcoalized.
5. A compact pile of agricultural produce (such as root vegetables or silage) used for temporary storage (often covered with straw, earth, or both).
6. A piece of wood (batten) across the grain of a board end to keep it flat, as in a breadboard.
7. An electronic circuit that fixes either the positive or the negative peak excursions of a signal to a defined value by shifting its DC value.

Verb

1. (intransitive, transitive) To fasten in place or together with (or as if with) a clamp.
2. (transitive) To hold or grip tightly.
3. (transitive) To modify (a numeric value) so it lies within a specific range by replacing values outside the range with the closest value within the range.
4. (UK, obsolete, transitive) To cover (vegetables, etc.) with earth.
5. (transitive) To immobilise (a vehicle) by means of a wheel clamp.

Verb

To tread heavily or clumsily; to clump or clomp.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/klæmp/

Etymology

Cognate with Middle Low German: klampe

Cognate with German: Klampfe

Cognate with Norwegian: klamp

Cognate with Swiss German: Chlempi

In summary

From Middle Dutch clamp, klampe (“a clamp, hook”), from Proto-Germanic *klampō (“clamp, clasp, cramp”), related to Proto-West Germanic *klammjan.
Cognate with Middle Low German klampe (“hook, clasp”), German Klampfe, Klampe (“clamp, cleat”), Norwegian klamp (“clamp”), Alemannic German Chlempi.

Synonyms

staple

brace

pinch

clip

parenthesis

clasp

grip

cramp

vice

bracket

squeeze

press

nip

grab

grasp

clutch

holdfast

fasten

fastening

tongs

clinch

pin against

compress

grapple

constrict

constrictor

connecting terminal

attachment clip

vise

fish

🐟

fastener

buckle

pile

pin down

clench

jig

heap

crush

crowd out

clam

crampon

chucking

chuck

connector

choke

binding post

girdle

fork over

compel

fork out

Translations

Klammer

🗜️

klamp

morsetto

🗜️

nietje

grampo

🗜️

kramp

haakje

grapa

morsa

laña

mengene

Krampe

parêntese

braçadeira

🗜️

crampon