clamp1
/klamp
/noun
1A brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things together: I have fixed the motor to the table with two clamps...
- Start by attaching the flexible vent from vent-connection kit to the periscope vent, using the band clamps in the kit.
- Then turn both top and bottom plates on their sides and put them together using large jaw clamps.
- The extensions are actually part of each side of the saw clamp, riveted together at the outer end.
Synonyms
brace, vice, press;
clasp, fastener, bracket, holdfast;
Music mute, capo, capo tasto;
Climbing jumar
1.1 short for wheel clamp.The parking attendants give out the maximum number of parking tickets and clamps....
- Affected motorists now face a hefty fine to remove the clamp or to be reunited with their vehicle.
- Owners of clamped vehicles are obliged to pay £200 to get the clamp removed and buy a new tax disc.
Synonyms
immobilizer, wheel clamp;
North American boot
2An electric circuit which serves to maintain the voltage limits of a signal at prescribed levels.When the driving voltage of sense amplifier exceeds the reference voltage, the clamp drops the driving voltage of sense amplifier....
- A clamp circuit controls the terminal voltage of the smoothing capacitor to a predetermined level so as to produce a power supply voltage.
- Electrical plug device including optical plug and socket connectors, terminal clamps connecting to electric mains, and an electronic bus coupler
verb
1 [with object and adverbial of place] Fasten (something) in place with a clamp: the sander is clamped on to the edge of a workbench...
- To make a bolt, a smith clamped the screw plate onto a rod of cold, soft iron and turned it down the rod.
- I clamp a steel straight edge in a vise and just draw the surface over the steel edge a few times.
- Plan your cuts so that the direction of the wood grain parallels the long edges and clamp a straightedge to the plywood to guide your cuts.
Synonyms
fasten, secure, fix, clip, attach, make fast;
screw, bolt
1.1Fasten (two things) firmly together: the two frames are clamped together...
- My hands convulsively clenched, my teeth clamped together, my nostrils flared, my lips curled, and a red mist descended in front of my eyes.
- ‘What you mean is that you would like to stay the night’ Raven nodded, lips clamped together tight.
- His hands clamped together between his knees, making his knuckles turn white as thoughts tumbled through his head.
1.2Hold (something) tightly against another thing: Maggie had to clamp a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing...
- Logan tried to get up, but her hand was clamped very tightly around his arm.
- I screamed even louder, and then I felt a hand clamp over my mouth.
- She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand clamped down over her mouth.
Synonyms
clench, grip, hold, press, squeeze;
clasp, grasp, clutch
1.3 [with object] Immobilize (an unlawfully parked car) by fixing a wheel clamp to one of its wheels: he had flown into a rage when he found his car was clamped...
- ‘They are continuously clamping staff cars,’ said one employee who wished to remain anonymous.
- Developers have been told to stop clamping cars parked on an estate access road in Marlborough after county council lawyers said it was illegal.
- There are warning signs around the car park warning motorists they will be clamped if they park without authorisation.
Synonyms
immobilize, wheel-clamp;
North American boot
2 [with object] Maintain the voltage limits of (an electrical signal) at prescribed values.A second clamping transistor is connected intermediate the input transistor and a power supply rail and has a gate for receiving an upper clamping voltage....
- Using this circuit, the voltage at V m was clamped with the dSEVC amplifier and measured independently with a second microelectrode amplifier.
- For good protection, especially for computers, look for a protector with a clamping voltage of less than 400 volts.
Phrasal verbs
clamp down
Derivatives
clamper
- A large crowd gathered around the car, shouting ‘shame, shame’, and ‘move the truck’ at the clampers.
- Personally, I believe the police, traffic wardens, clampers, etc would stop harassing motorists if motorists stopped breaking the laws.
- Police are still seeking the driver who, after her car was clamped and released at a cost of nearly £100, grabbed the keys of the clampers ' van and drove off.
Origin
Middle English: probably of Dutch or Low German origin and related to clam.
clam from early 16th century:
It is not easy to prise apart a clam, and this tight grip lies behind the origin of the word. Clam originally meant ‘a clamp’, and probably had the same source as clamp (Middle English). There is also an English dialect word clam, meaning ‘to be sticky or to stick to something’, which is related to clay (Old English). It is also where clammy—originally spelled claymy—comes from. See also happy
Rhymes
clamp2
/klamp/noun British
1A heap of potatoes or other root vegetables stored under straw or earth.There is also a theory about making a potato clamp to keep them in over the winter....
- From his own patch he had harvested potatoes the previous summer and had laid them in a clamp.
2A three-sided structure used to store silage: a silage clamp...
- It had been his intention to construct the silage clamp as a single structure.
- Farmers are reverting to clamps of silage or traditional haymaking which is very difficult in the conditions which are far from ideal.
- At present there is surplus silage on many farms and the advice is to use up the bales by early summer and to seal up any silage left in the clamps.
Origin
Late 16th century (denoting a pile of bricks for firing): probably from Dutch klamp 'heap'; related to clump.