Library / English Dictionary

CLAMP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Synonyms:

clamp; clinch

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Impose or inflict forcefully

Example:

The military government clamped a curfew onto the capital

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

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

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

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something on somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fasten or fix with a clamp

Example:

clamp the chair together until the glue has hardened

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The young man explained that he had developed a popping sensation in his neck which immediately swelled up after he tried to contain a forceful sneeze by pinching his nose and keeping his mouth clamped shut at the same time.

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

My attention was speedily drawn, as I have already remarked to you, to this ventilator, and to the bell-rope which hung down to the bed. The discovery that this was a dummy, and that the bed was clamped to the floor, instantly gave rise to the suspicion that the rope was there as a bridge for something passing through the hole and coming to the bed.

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