clam¹

[klam] /klæm/

noun

any of various bivalve mollusks, especially certain edible species.

Compare quahog, soft-shell clam.

Informal. a secretive or silent person.

clamminess.

Slang. a dollar or the sum of a dollar:

I only made 60 clams a week.

verb (used without object), clammed, clamming.

to gather or dig clams.

Verb phrases

clam up, Slang. to refuse to talk or reply; refrain from talking or divulging information:

The teacher asked who had thrown the eraser, but the class clammed up.

Origin

1585-95; short for clam-shell, i.e., bivalve with a shell that clamps. See clam², shell

Related forms

clamlike, adjective

clammer, noun

clam²

[klam] /klæm/

noun

British Dialect, clamp¹ (defs 1–3).

Machinery. (formerly) pincers.

Origin

before 1000; Middle English; Old English, derivative of clamm fetter, grasp; cognate with German Klamm fetter; akin to clamp

Examples from the web for clam

They are often seen with a clam or mussel and a rock that has been deftly snared from the ocean floor.
Their parents teach them about everything, but clam up when it comes to that.
But if users realise how their data are used, they may clam up.
But all this may soon change, as condos and coffee shops replace the clam bars and ghost trains on the valuable beachside sites.
The leaders of each side seem to be behaving in a remarkably civilized and clam manner.
Ask what's in a college president's benefits package, and trustees and other officials clam up.
She is happy as a clam to go each day, and talks about it in the evening.
In short, they are already familiar with the ideas, but they might clam-up if you begin with the literature.
As it is, your post doc may think you are happy as a clam and have no idea you are so upset.
The clam uses a tiny foot to burrow into the seafloor as it grows.

British Dictionary definitions for clam

clam¹

/klæm/

noun

any of various burrowing bivalve molluscs of the genera Mya, Venus, etc. Many species, such as the quahog and soft-shell clam, are edible and Tridacna gigas is the largest known bivalve, nearly 1.5 metres long

the edible flesh of such a mollusc

(informal) a reticent person

verb clams, clamming, clammed

(intransitive) (mainly US) to gather clams

clam²

/klæm/

verb clams, clamming, clammed

a variant of clem

clem

/klɛm/

verb clems, clemming, clemmed, clams, clamming, clammed

(when transitive, usually passive) (English, dialect) to be hungry or cause to be hungry

Word Origin

C16: of Germanic origin; related to Dutch, German klemmen to pinch, cramp; compare Old English beclemman to shut in

Word Origin and History for clam

bivalve mollusk, c.1500, in clam-shell, originally Scottish, apparently a particular use from Middle English clam "pincers, vice, clamp" (late 14c.), from Old English clamm "bond, fetter, grip, grasp," from Proto-Germanic *klam- "to press or squeeze together" (cf. Old High German klamma "cramp, fetter, constriction," German Klamm "a constriction"). If this is right then the original reference is to the shell. Clam-chowder attested from 1822. To be happy as a clam is from 1833, but the earliest uses do not elaborate on the notion behind it, unless it be self-containment.

"to dig for clams," 1630s, American English, from clam (n.). Clam up "be quiet" is 1916, American English, but clam was used in this sense as an interjection mid-14c.

Slang definitions & phrases for clam

clam

noun

A silent, secretive person, esp one who can be trusted with a confidence (1860s+)
A dollar: That'll be eight clams for the oil (1930s+)
wrong or sour note; clinker (1940s+ Jazz musicians)
The vulva; bearded clam •The term is probably older than indicated. An English dialect dictionary of 1857 hints as much with two senses of clam: ''a slut''; ''to snatch, to shut'' (1916+)

verb

clam up •The term must be earlier than the date given, although no examples can be provided. Middle English clum, ''be quiet! shut up,'' of obscure origin, may not be related to clam (1916+)

Related Terms

bearded clam, happy as a clam

clam in Technology

mathematics, tool
A system for symbolic mathematics, especially General Relativity. It was first implemented in ATLAS assembly language and later Lisp.
See also ALAM.
["CLAM Programmer's Manual", Ray d'Inverno & Russell-Clark, King's College London, 1971].
(1994-11-08)

Idioms and Phrases with clam

clam

In addition to the idiom beginning with clam also see: happy as the day is long (as a clam)