CLAM • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Clam

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noun

Clam n.

1.

(Zool.) A bivalve mollusk of many kinds, especially those that are edible; as, the long clam (Mya arenaria), the quahog or round clam (Venus mercenaria), the sea clam or hen clam (Spisula solidissima), and other species of the United States. The name is said to have been given originally to the Tridacna gigas, a huge East Indian bivalve. "You shall scarce find any bay or shallow shore, or cove of sand, where you may not take many clampes, or lobsters, or both, at your pleasure." "Clams, or clamps, is a shellfish not much unlike a cockle; it lieth under the sand."

2.

(Ship Carp.) Strong pinchers or forceps.

3.

pl. (Mech.) A kind of vise, usually of wood.

Blood clam. See under Blood.

Clam n. Claminess; moisture. (R.) "The clam of death."

Clam n. A crash or clangor made by ringing all the bells of a chime at once.

verb

Clam v. t. & v. i. To produce, in bell ringing, a clam or clangor; to cause to clang.

Clam v. t. (past & past part. clammed; pres. part. clamming) To clog, as with glutinous or viscous matter. "A swarm of wasps got into a honey pot, and there they cloyed and clammed Themselves till there was no getting out again."

Clam v. i. To be moist or glutinous; to stick; to adhere. (R.)

See images of 'Clam'

Etymology of 'Clam'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Clam" Quotes from Famous Books

... assistance such a charity must largely depend. Strenuous appeals had been made, however: it was represented that ten thousand poor children could be transported to Nantasket Beach, and there, as one of the ladies on the committee said, bathed, clam-baked, and lemonaded three times during the summer at a cost so small that it was a saving to spend the money. Class Day falling about the same time, many exiles at Newport and on the North Shore ...

— A Modern Instance • William Dean Howells

... get over to Nantucket, would you be terribly disconcerted to discover some morning, down among the wharves there, with a copy of Moby Dick, and a distressed look from deciding whether breakfast should be of clam or ...

— Fate Knocks at the Door - A Novel • Will Levington Comfort

... boat. He wants to bring her safe into Clam Cove, he says, and then we'll anchor for the night. But he thought it best for us all to be dressed. The storm is worse than any of ...

— Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Christmas Tree Cove • Laura Lee Hope

... servants, but it was of no avail. It was quite evident that his feelings were so wounded that he would not appear. Mr. Otis consequently resumed his great work on the history of the Democratic party, on which he had been engaged for some years; Mrs. Otis organized a wonderful clam-bake, which amazed the whole county; the boys took to lacrosse, euchre, poker, and other American national games, and Virginia rode about the lanes on her pony, accompanied by the young Duke of Cheshire, who had come to spend the last week of his holidays at Canterville Chase. It was generally assumed ...

— Humorous Ghost Stories • Dorothy Scarborough

... his arrival, they continued fighting without any visible plan, according to the expedients of the divisional generals. The particular expedient adopted by General Zedwitz was to withdraw 15,000 men, including six regiments of cavalry, from the field. At a critical moment, Count Clam Gallas had the misfortune to lose his artillery reserve, and sent everywhere to ask if anyone had seen it. The Prince of Hesse, acting without orders, or against orders, separated his division from Schwarzenberg's and brought it up at the nick of time ...

— The Liberation of Italy • Countess Evelyn Martinengo-Cesaresco

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