clamp

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to impose or inflict forcefully

   The military government clamped a curfew onto the capital.

2. 2
   verb

   to fasten or fix with a clamp

   They told me to clamp the chair together until the glue has hardened.

Multiword verbs with clamp

• clamp down Phrasal verb C2

  to take strict action to stop an unwanted activity

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Clamp is recorded from the Middle English period and probably shares its source with Old English clam, which meant “a bond” or “something that holds tight” and later developed the sense “a clamp.” The precise relationship is presented as probable rather than certain.

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.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary