clam

1 of 3

noun (1)

clam

2 of 3

noun (2)

often attributive
1
a
: any of numerous edible marine bivalve mollusks living in sand or mud
b
: a freshwater mussel
2
: a stolid or closemouthed person
3
4
informal : dollar sense 3

Illustration of clam

Illustration of clam
  • a incurrent orifice
  • b siphon
  • c excurrent orifice
  • d mantle
  • e shell
  • f foot

clam

3 of 3

verb

clammed; clamming

intransitive verb

: to gather clams especially by digging
clammer noun

Examples of clam in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Try the linguine with clams at La Camogliese and pop back up to Via della Repubblica for a meal at La Bossa di Mario - Enoteca con Cucina, situated across from the Dragun Pub. Lauren Breedlove, Travel + Leisure, 6 Mar. 2024 The state's elver fishery raked in $19.5 million in 2023, followed by soft shell clam diggers' $13.8 million yield for the year. Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 One worker, who spent four years processing clams in Dandong, estimated that more than sixty per cent of her co-workers suffered from depression. Ian Urbina, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2024 Some fish like cod are moving northward and into deeper waters in response to warmer oceans, and other species like lobster, oysters, clams and mussels are at risk of population decline. Olivia Ferrari, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2024 For years, Weyand’s store on Biddle did all sorts of dinners on Fridays and sold Blume’s popular and specially made clam chowder. Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 4 Mar. 2024 The dinner theme harkened back to a sardine motif used throughout Staud’s latest collection, with scallop crudo, clams, and woven boquerones as just a few offerings on the menu. Jamila Stewart, Vogue, 1 Mar. 2024 First, there is clam pizza, with clams often freshly shucked to order on a white pie. Amelia Nierenberg Joe Buglewicz, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2024 Black hopes to expand his climate chronologies and create a 1,000-year history of climate in the north Pacific using clam rings. The Arizona Republic, 19 Feb. 2024
Verb
Where cows once grazed, farmland once produced food, and children went clamming (clams prefer sand, not cobbles), the land and habitat were gradually lost to the sea. Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 11 Jan. 2024 The old Florida vibe of Tin City is a throwback to the 1920s when clam, shelling, oyster, and fishing industries were headquartered here. Kara Franker, Southern Living, 14 Nov. 2023 There’s something unavoidably primal about prying open an oyster or clam and sucking it from its shell—there’s no way to aesthetically refine the act’s essential ferality. Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2023 He was joined by the team’s investigator, Tom Brennan, who worked in clamming and oystering before going into law enforcement. Karen Zraick Karsten Moran, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2023 At the Cedar Key Historical Society Museum, which opened its doors and windows on Thursday to dry out, an exhibit said that clamming represented $30 million of the local economy in 2016, producing between 125 million and 150 million clams, or about 90 percent of Florida’s harvest. Jacey Fortin, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2023 Tautog Like sheepshead, this Northeast and Mid-Atlantic wreck and reef dweller is highly adept at taking a piece of crab or clam off your hook before the tug even triggers your brain to swing. Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 24 Aug. 2023 Several people also shared childhood memories of family clamming trips in Arizona. The Arizona Republic, 9 Aug. 2023 With buckets and shovels amid a seemingly endless sprawl of mud, clamming can be a dream opportunity for kids who like to get their hands dirty. Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News, 4 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clam.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English clamm bond, fetter; akin to Old High German klamma constriction and perhaps to Latin glomus ball

Noun (2)

clam entry 1; from the clamping action of the shells

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1520, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1636, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of clam was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near clam

Cite this Entry

“Clam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clam. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

clam

1 of 2 noun
1
: any of numerous edible marine mollusks that have two hinged shells and live in sand or mud
2
: a freshwater mussel

clam

2 of 2 verb
clammed; clamming
: to dig or gather clams

More from Merriam-Webster on clam

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