# clem

> English word · Verb · IPA /klɛm/ · frequency rank #29,597

## Definitions
1. To be hungry; starve.

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English *clemmen, *clammen, from Old English clemman, clæmman (“to press, surround”), from Proto-West Germanic *klammjan (“to squeeze”). Cognate with Dutch klemmen (“to jam, pinch, stick”), German klemmen (“to jam, clamp; to be stuck, stick [to a surface]”).

## Easily confused with
- **CM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-cm)
- **cum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-cum)
- **cue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-cue)
- **Coe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-coe)
- **CRM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-crm)
- **CME** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-cme)
- **CTE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-cte)
- **CSM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-csm)
- **CSE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-cse)
- **CLP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-clp)
- **Clo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-clo)
- **club** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-club)
- **crew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-crew)
- **clip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-clip)
- **clue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-clue)
- **cole** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-cole)
- **cues** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-cues)
- **comm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-comm)
- **clot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-clot)
- **cram** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clem-vs-cram)

## Common misspellings (6)
`cclem`, `celm`, `clemm`, `cllem`, `clme`, `lcem`

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