clam
noun/klæm/
/klæm/
- a shellfish that can be eaten. It has a shell in two parts that can open and close.
- clam chowder/soup
- The moment I mentioned the children he closed up like a clam (= became silent and refused to discuss the topic).
Word Originearly 16th cent.: apparently from earlier clam ‘a clamp’, from Old English clam, clamm ‘a bond or bondage’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch klemme, German Klemme, also to clamp.Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
clam