clump
/klʌmp
/noun
1A small group of trees or plants growing closely together: a clump of ferns...
- To escape a drenching, I sheltered in a clump of trees.
- She pointed to a clump of red seaweed growing by a cluster of rocks.
- A clump of palm trees ringed by white sand in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, it's a treasure map come to life.
Synonyms
cluster, thicket, group, bunch, collection, assembly, assemblage;
tuft, tuffet, tussock, mat, tangle
1.1A small, compact group of people: they sat on the wall in clumps of two and three...
- Despite the enormity of Site B and the thronging clumps of people they passed, she seemed to know her way very well.
- And every single time, as I've attempted to leave the car park, I've come across confused looking clumps of young people wandering in the road like bovines with backpacks.
- ‘You know how there are always those clumps of people on the square’ she'd said to me.
1.2A compacted mass or lump of something: clumps of earth...
- Lumps in a starch paste are caused by clumps of granules gelatinizing on their outsides and becoming impervious.
- He reached under him and cleared away a few large clumps of dirt, leaves, and twigs, and stones, which appeared ordinary but served as a good hiding place for the tunnel entrance.
- One Western cameraman saw scraps of flesh, pools of blood and clumps of human hair.
Synonyms
lump, clod, mass, gobbet, wad, concentration;
agglutination, agglomeration, accumulation, build-up
informal glob, gob
1.3 Physiology An agglutinated mass of blood cells or bacteria, especially as an indicator of the presence of an antibody to them.Other problems include irregularities of the heart beat, heart muscle destruction and blood clots and clumps of bacteria that go from the heart to the brain and other organs....
- Bacterial clump formation on the surface of the medium was observed with all the strains.
- This is where the red blood cells sort of form into clumps and these are the start of the Deep Vein Thromboses (DVT's).
2 another term for clomp.
Synonyms
stamp, stomp, stump, clomp, tramp, plod, trudge, walk heavily, lumber, stumble;
thump, thud, bang;
Scottish & Northern Irish sprauchle
informal galumph
3A thick extra sole on a boot or shoe.
verb [no object]
1Form a clump or clumps: the particles tend to clump together...
- The nodules can clump together in lumps as big as a fist, mostly on limbs and trunk.
- The pus tends to clump together on the lashes, making them stick together.
- But tiny particles tend to clump together in the air and then fall to the ground, so they need to be treated with a chemical to prevent that and keep them airborne.
2 another term for clomp.She looked up and smirked as her brother went clumping out of the room, his boots thudding loudly, deliberately....
- Her boots clumped heavily on the ground beneath her, stumbling as she fought to keep up with his ever-increasing speed.
- And with that, she gave him one last look, turned and started up the sidewalk again in that short, clumping stride of hers that reminded him of a lumberjack
Origin
Middle English (denoting a heap or lump): partly imitative, reinforced by Middle Low German klumpe and Middle Dutch klompe; related to club2.
club from Middle English:
In the sense ‘a heavy stick with a thick end’ club comes from Old Norse clubba, and is related to clump (Middle English). The use of the word to refer to a society or association of people who share a particular interest dates from the early 17th century. It appears to have derived gradually from the idea of a group of people forming into a mass like the thick end of a club.