CLAMP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does clamp mean? 

• CLAMP (noun)
  The noun CLAMP has 1 sense:

1. a device (generally used by carpenters) that holds things firmly together

  Familiarity information: CLAMP used as a noun is very rare.

• CLAMP (verb)
  The verb CLAMP has 2 senses:

1. fasten or fix with a clamp

2. impose or inflict forcefully

  Familiarity information: CLAMP used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CLAMP (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A device (generally used by carpenters) that holds things firmly together

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

clamp; clinch

Hypernyms ("clamp" is a kind of...):

holding device (a device for holding something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "clamp"):

bench clamp (a clamp used to hold work in place on a workbench)

C-clamp (a clamp in the shape of the letter C)

cramp (a clamp for holding pieces of wood together while they are glued)

pipe clamp; pipe vise (a clamp for holding pipe that is to be cut or threaded)

press (clamp to prevent wooden rackets from warping when not in use)

Derivation:

clamp (fasten or fix with a clamp)

• CLAMP (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they clamp    ... he / she / it clamps   
Past simple: clamped   
Past participle: clamped   
-ing form: clamping   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fasten or fix with a clamp

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

clamp the chair together until the glue has hardened

Hypernyms (to "clamp" is one way to...):

fasten; fix; secure (cause to be firmly attached)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

clamp (a device (generally used by carpenters) that holds things firmly together)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Impose or inflict forcefully

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

The military government clamped a curfew onto the capital

Hypernyms (to "clamp" is one way to...):

bring down; impose; inflict; visit (impose something unpleasant)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something on somebody

 Context examples 

From it he took a coil of the strongest and lightest rope, a hundred and fifty feet in length, with climbing irons, clamps, and other devices.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

To fasten, grip, or support with or as if with a clamp.

(Clamping, NCI Thesaurus)

In prokaryotes, the leading strand replication apparatus consists of a DNA polymerase (pol III core), a sliding clamp (beta), and a clamp loader (gamma delta complex).

(DNA Replication Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

Pinching your nose while clamping your mouth shut to contain a forceful sneeze isn't a good idea, warn doctors.

(Blocking A Sneeze, Man Ruptures Throat, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

It was clamped to the floor.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The lock shivered, the wood smashed, the stone flew into five pieces, but the iron clamps still held the door in its position.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was most probable that it was because I had laid over the clamps of those doors garlic, which the Un-Dead cannot bear, and other things which they shun.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Examples of these devices include Hickman catheters, which require clamps to make sure the valve is closed, and Groshong catheters, which have a valve that opens as fluid is withdrawn or infused and remains closed when not in use.

(Central venous access catheter, NCI Dictionary)

PCNA and RFC function as a clamp and a clamp loader.

(DNA Replication Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

Amid the knot of noisy and gesticulating townsfolk, many small parties of mounted knights and squires threaded their way towards the prince's quarters, where the huge iron-clamped doors were thrown back to show that he held audience within.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)