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to clam

to clam

7 8.6
To close tightly or stop speaking suddenly
  • verb
  • /klæm/
translation icon : callarse
  • When someone challenges my ideas, I clam up.
  • just clam up
  • clam up, he said
  • the more clam up

Examples

  • Dewey, realizing he's said too much, clams up.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Oh, come on, don't clam up on me now.

  • I thought you might clam up.

  • All you can do is clam up.

  • And then I just got so scared around guys, I would just like clam up.

  • Men seem more likely to clam up.

    Blog text (9)
  • She looks like she's about to say something, then just... clams up.

  • She would start to say something to Viola, and then she would stop all of a sudden, or in Viola's words, "clam up."

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Either they will clam up and get offended or they'll become overly boisterous.

  • Whenever she feels anxious, she tends to clam up and avoid talking to anyone.

Synonyms

to shut
vsto clam
1.0

To close something so it is not open

often implies a tighter or sudden act that can also stop speech
to close
vsto clam
1.0

To shut something so it is not open

tends more to mean a sudden tight action that can stop speech
to seal
vsto clam
457 2.5

To close something tightly to stop air or water getting in

focuses on sudden tight action that may also stop someone from speaking
to slam shut
vsto clam
  • Informal
17 2.7

To close a door or window quickly and hard so it makes a loud noise

is sudden and tight but lacks the violent noisy force of the other
to clam up
vsto clam
  • Informal
14 6.6

Stop talking suddenly because you are nervous or do not want to say anything

refers more broadly to tight sudden shutting of objects and to speech
1 1.9

Close something tightly so nothing can get in or out

is more general covering sudden tight acts and also stopping speech

Antonyms

1.0

To talk with someone to share thoughts or feelings

1.0

To make something not closed so you can get in

Phrasal Verbs

to clam up
  • Informal
14 6.6

Stop talking suddenly because you are nervous or do not want to say anything

Compounds

8 2.8

A thick, creamy soup with clams, potatoes, and onions, often made with milk

1 5.7

A very large sea clam that lives on coral reefs

1 5.4

A long narrow sea clam with a curved, sharp shell

1 5.2

A cold creamy mixture of chopped clams and cream cheese eaten with crackers or chips

1 3.3

A small animal with two shells that lives in fresh water, often in rivers

A thick creamy soup from New England made with clams, potatoes, onions, and milk

blood clam
  • Indian
8.0

A shellfish with red blood that lives in muddy seashores and is eaten in parts of Asia

A medium sized sea animal with a hard shell often eaten cooked or raw

A small edible clam often eaten raw or cooked

A type of shellfish with a thin oval shell and a long thin neck eaten as food

A tomato soup with clams and vegetables served hot

A North American clam with a thick hard shell that is eaten as food

6.3

A large edible clam from the Atlantic coast whose shell was once used as money by Native Americans

A sea clam with a long narrow shell that lives in sand

5.7

A large clam you can eat with a hard rounded shell

A small sea animal with a thin fragile shell that people eat

4.4

A soft clam often steamed and eaten in its shell

How Closed

to seal
457 2.5
to clam
7 8.6
to shut
1.0
to close
1.0

Surface Forms

clam infinitive
clammed past
clammed past participle
clamming present participle
clams third person singular

Etymology

Clam meaning to close tightly or suddenly comes from the way a clam shuts its shell, and that image explains the phrase 'clam up' when someone quickly becomes silent. So to clam shut is to close like a shell and to clam up is to stop talking.