clamp

Plural: clamps

Noun

• a device (generally used by carpenters) that holds things firmly together
• A brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things together.
• An instrument used to temporarily shut off blood vessels, etc.
• A parking enforcement device used to immobilise a car until it can be towed or a fine is paid; a wheel clamp.
• A pile of materials to be heated in a controlled way, stacked or heaped together with fuel so that the fire permeates the pile; the material of interest may be bricks to be fired, ore for roasting, coal for coking, or wood to be charcoalized.
• A compact pile of agricultural produce (such as root vegetables or silage) used for temporary storage (often covered with straw, earth, or both).
• A piece of wood (batten) across the grain of a board end to keep it flat, as in a breadboard.
• An electronic circuit that fixes either the positive or the negative peak excursions of a signal to a defined value by shifting its DC value.
• A heavy footstep; a tramp.

Verb

Verb Forms: clamped, clamping, clamps

• To fasten or hold tightly with a device.
• fasten or fix with a clamp
  • "clamp the chair together until the glue has hardened"
• impose or inflict forcefully
  • "The military government clamped a curfew onto the capital"
• To fasten in place or together with (or as if with) a clamp.
• To hold or grip tightly.
• To modify (a numeric value) so it lies within a specific range by replacing values outside the range with the closest value within the range.
• To cover (vegetables, etc.) with earth.
• To immobilise (a vehicle) by means of a wheel clamp.
• To tread heavily or clumsily; to clump or clomp.

Examples

• He needed to CLAMP down on his bad habits, like playing too many short words when longer ones were available.
• I was only parked there for five minutes but my car was still clamped.

Synonyms

clinch

Related Words

clasp, vice, vise

Anagrams of clamp