# clamp

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈklæmp/ · frequency rank #15,985

## Definitions
1. A brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things that are apart together.
2. An instrument used to temporarily shut off blood vessels, etc.
3. A parking enforcement device used to immobilise a car until it can be towed or a fine is paid; a wheel clamp.
4. 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.
5. A compact pile of agricultural produce (such as root vegetables or silage) used for temporary storage (often covered with straw, earth, or both).
6. A piece of wood (batten) across the grain of a board end to keep it flat, as in a breadboard.
7. 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.

## Etymology
From Middle Dutch clamp, klampe (“a clamp, hook”), from Proto-Germanic *klampō (“clamp, clasp, cramp”), related to Proto-West Germanic *klammjan.
Cognate with Middle Low German klampe (“hook, clasp”), German Klampfe, Klampe (“clamp, cleat”), Norwegian klamp (“clamp”), Alemannic German Chlempi.

## Easily confused with
- **CLP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-clp)
- **crap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-crap)
- **clay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-clay)
- **clip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-clip)
- **clan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-clan)
- **comp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-comp)
- **claw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-claw)
- **clap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-clap)
- **cram** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-cram)
- **clem** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-clem)
- **class** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-class)
- **Clark** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-clark)
- **climb** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-climb)
- **clash** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-clash)
- **Clara** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-clara)
- **Clare** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-clare)
- **claws** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-claws)
- **Claus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-claus)
- **clans** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-clans)
- **clams** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamp-vs-clams)

## Common misspellings (8)
`calmp`, `cclamp`, `clammp`, `clampp`, `clapm`, `cllamp`, `clmap`, `lcamp`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/clamp