clamber

/ˈklæmbə/

//ˈklæmbə// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"clamber" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“clamber” is uncommon English (frequency #73,070 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,070
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To climb (something) with some difficulty, or in a haphazard fashion.

Corpus desk

Index EN-clamber · clamber · English

clamber · rank #73,070 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #73,070
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH circumflex

Nearest frequency peer: circumflex (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “clamber”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “clamber” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for clamber
PropertyValue
Headwordclamber
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈklæmbə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#73,070
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “clamber” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).clamberfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “circumflex” (#73,069), “clanking” (#73,071), “claptrap” (#73,072). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “clamber” is #73,070. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

clamber is uncommon English at frequency #73,070 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈklæmbə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To climb (something) with some difficulty, or in a haphazard fashion.".

No misspelling variants are generated for clamber in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English clambren, clameren, clemeren (“to climb, clamber; to crawl, creep”), then either: * possibly from clam, clamb, clemb, past tense of climben (“to climb, get over; to ascend, rise”), and influenced by Old English clæmman (“to press”); or *… The correct English form is clamber, spelled C-L-A-M-B-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To climb (something) with some difficulty, or in a haphazard fashion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how clamber appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The children clambered over the jungle gym.
  2. Now, neither for his harp, nor quiuer, cares: / Him ſelfe debaſing, beares the corded ſnares; / Or leades the dogs, or clambers mountaines; led / By lordly Loue, and flames by cuſtome fed.

Etymology

From Middle English clambren, clameren, clemeren (“to climb, clamber; to crawl, creep”), then either: * possibly from clam, clamb, clemb, past tense of climben (“to climb, get over; to ascend, rise”), and influenced by Old English clæmman (“to press”); or * from Old English *clambrian, from Proto-Germanic *klambrōną or *klambizōną. The English word is cognate with Low German klemmern, klempern (“to climb”), Scots clammer (“to clamber”); and compare also Danish klamre (“to cling”), Icelandic klambra, klembra (“to pinch closely together; clamp”), Swedish klamra (“to cling”). The noun is derived from the verb.

Synonyms

scrabblescramble

This word in other languages

trepar(Español)grimper(Français)klettern(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "clamber"?
"clamber" is spelled C-L-A-M-B-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈklæmbə/.
What does "clamber" mean?
As a verb, "clamber" means: To climb (something) with some difficulty, or in a haphazard fashion.
How do you pronounce "clamber"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "clamber" is /ˈklæmbə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "clamber"?
From Middle English clambren, clameren, clemeren (“to climb, clamber; to crawl, creep”), then either: * possibly from clam, clamb, clemb, past tense of climben (“to climb, get over; to ascend, rise”), and influenced by Old English clæmman (“to pre... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "clamber", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

codices#73,078Chipman#73,059Chandni#73,054ceilidh#73,050

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list