intransitive verb

: to climb awkwardly or with effort especially by using both the hands and the feet
We clambered over the rocks.
They clambered up the hill.

Examples of clamber in a Sentence

The children clambered over the rocks. We clambered up the steep hill.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
On the night before the verdict, they were joined by more than a dozen journalists, clambering for the best angle of their emerging messages, pasted up on walls already crowded by other snippets of testimony and poetry. Catherine Porter, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024 This once meant waiting in long lines outside stores like Walmart and Best Buy in the early morning hours, clambering over one another to snag electronics, beauty items, and other unaffordable gifts at a steal. Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Dec. 2024 Over much of the preceding 2,055 days, the site had been a hive of industry, with teams cleaning marble mosaics, retouching frescoes and clambering over the anthill of scaffolding that filled the center of the landmark. Joseph Ataman, CNN, 30 Nov. 2024 Tottenham could clamber into the top four places in the Premier League table. Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for clamber 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English clambren; akin to Old English climban to climb

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of clamber was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near clamber

Cite this Entry

“Clamber.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clamber. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

: to climb awkwardly

More from Merriam-Webster on clamber

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