| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024clam1 /klæm/USA pronunciation n., v., clammed, clam•ming. n. [countable] - Invertebratesa soft-bodied shellfish with two shells that close tight around it.
- Informal TermsInformal. a secretive or silent person.
- Slang TermsSlang. a dollar.
v. [no object] - to dig clams:They went clamming on the beaches.
- clam up, Informal. to refuse to talk or reply: He's so shy that he clams up in public.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024clam1 (klam),USA pronunciation n., v., clammed, clam•ming. n. - Invertebratesany of various bivalve mollusks, esp. certain edible species. Cf. quahog, soft-shell clam.
- Informal Termsa secretive or silent person.
- clamminess.
- Slang Termsa dollar or the sum of a dollar:I only made 60 clams a week.
v.i. - to gather or dig clams.
- clam up, [Slang.]to refuse to talk or reply;
refrain from talking or divulging information:The teacher asked who had thrown the eraser, but the class clammed up.
- short for clam-shell, i.e., bivalve with a shell that clamps. See clam2, shell 1585–95
- British Termsclamp1 (defs. 1–3).
- [Mach.](formerly) pincers.
- bef. 1000; Middle English; Old English, derivative of clamm fetter, grasp; cognate with German Klamm fetter; akin to clamp
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: clam /klæm/ n - any of various burrowing bivalve molluscs of the genera Mya, Venus, etc. Many species, such as the quahog and soft-shell clam, are edible and Tridacna gigas is the largest known bivalve, nearly 1.5 metres long
- the edible flesh of such a mollusc
- informal a reticent person
vb (clams, clamming, clammed)- (intransitive) chiefly US to gather clams
See also clam upEtymology: 16th Century: from earlier clamshell, that is, shell that clamps; related to Old English clamm fetter, Old High German klamma constriction; see clamp1 |