# clump

> English word · Noun · IPA /klʌmp/ · frequency rank #31,110

## Definitions
1. A cluster or lump; an unshaped piece or mass.
2. A thick group or bunch, especially of bushes or hair.
3. A dull thud.
4. The compressed clay of coal strata.
5. A small group of trees or plants.
6. A thick addition to the sole of a shoe.

## Etymology
From Middle English clompe, from Old English clymppe, a variant of clympre (“a lump or mass of metal”), from Proto-Germanic *klumpô (“mass, lump, clump; clasp”), from Proto-Indo-European *glembʰ- (“lump, clamp”).
Alternatively, possibly from Middle Dutch clompe or Middle Low German klumpe (compare German Klumpen). Doublet of klomp.
Cognates include Danish klump (probably from Low German as well). Compare Norwegian Bokmål klump.

## Easily confused with
- **cup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-cup)
- **cum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-cum)
- **coup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-coup)
- **comp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-comp)
- **cusp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-cusp)
- **cums** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-cums)
- **cramp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-cramp)
- **clung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-clung)
- **crumb** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-crumb)
- **crump** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-crump)
- **crimp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-crimp)
- **column** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-column)
- **clumsy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-clumsy)
- **clumps** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clump-vs-clumps)
- **CLP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clp-vs-clump)
- **club** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/club-vs-clump)
- **camp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/camp-vs-clump)
- **clip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clip-vs-clump)
- **clue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clue-vs-clump)
- **clap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clap-vs-clump)

## Common misspellings (8)
`cclump`, `cllump`, `clmup`, `clummp`, `clumpp`, `clupm`, `culmp`, `lcump`

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