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Glite Dictionary
📦 A plastic case 🚜 A digging tool 🐚 A hinged shell
clamshell

clamshell

1 4.2
A hard plastic package with two halves that close to protect and show goods
  • noun
  • /ˈklæmˌʃɛl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : envase tipo clamshell
  • clamshell package
  • plastic clamshell
  • clamshell containers

Examples

  • First we will find a plastic clamshell style packaging.

  • The first generation of the iBook featured a clamshell design and wireless networking.

    Blog text (16)

  • This is a clamshell-style laptop complete with an 11.6-inch screen.

    Blog text (4)

  • Polystyrene is a mainstay of the fast-food industry, whose disposable cups and clamshell burger packages are a familiar sight.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The McLaren P1 has large clamshell single-moulded front and rear panels, which are attached to the central carbon MonoCage, and that's it, apart from two small access flaps in the rear, a front bonnet, and the two doors.

    Blog text (23)

  • At the supermarket, fresh berries are often sold in a clamshell package that keeps them safe and visible.

  • The new design of the clamshell packaging makes it easier for customers to see the product inside.

  • Many takeout meals are served in clamshell containers, allowing for convenient access to the food.

Synonyms

packaging
vsclamshell
32 2.2

Material used to hold and protect products during storage or transport

is a rigid hinged container designed to enclose and display goods in shops

How Protective

crate
189 1.7
clamshell
  • Specialized
1 4.2
box
∞ 1.0
bag
∞ 1.0
wrapper
58 1.0

Surface Forms

clamshell singular
clamshells plural

Morphology

clamshell = clam + shell (semi-transparent) = clam + shell

The packaging sense is clearly motivated by resemblance to a clam's hinged shell, but the commercial/packaging function (rigid, display packaging) is a conventionalized extension that may not be fully deducible from the components alone.

Etymology

Clamshell for packaging is a simple picture: a rigid pack with two halves that close together like a clam's shell to 'protect' what is inside. That's why clamshell packaging is used to show and keep goods safe on the shelf.