Definition of clamp

• n. - Something rigid that holds fast or binds things together; a piece of wood or metal, used to hold two or more pieces together.
• n. - An instrument with a screw or screws by which work is held in its place or two parts are temporarily held together.
• n. - A piece of wood placed across another, or inserted into another, to bind or strengthen.
• n. - One of a pair of movable pieces of lead, or other soft material, to cover the jaws of a vise and enable it to grasp without bruising.
• n. - A thick plank on the inner part of a ship's side, used to sustain the ends of beams.
• n. - A mass of bricks heaped up to be burned; or of ore for roasting, or of coal for coking.
• n. - A mollusk. See Clam.
• v. t. - To fasten with a clamp or clamps; to apply a clamp to; to place in a clamp.
• v. t. - To cover, as vegetables, with earth.
• n. - A heavy footstep; a tramp.
• v. i. - To tread heavily or clumsily; to clump.