Illustration of clam
- a incurrent orifice
- b siphon
- c excurrent orifice
- d mantle
- e shell
- f foot
often attributive
1
a
: any of numerous edible marine bivalve mollusks living in sand or mud
b
: a freshwater mussel
2
: a stolid or closemouthed person
3
4
informal
: dollar sense 3
Synonyms
Examples of clam in a Sentence
Noun (2)
it must take a whole lot of clams to buy a car like that
Recent Examples on the Web
Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 24 May 2024
Nearby: a variety of frozen fish, as well as mussels, clams and frozen crab legs.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 23 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for clam 
Noun
An officer promptly issued the mother a two-count citation for fishing without a license and for collecting the undersized Pismo clams during the November 2023 oceanside outing, according to court filings obtained by PEOPLE.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 24 May 2024
Nearby: a variety of frozen fish, as well as mussels, clams and frozen crab legs.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 23 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for clam
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clam.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near clam
Cite this Entry
“Clam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clam. Accessed 3 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
clam
1 of 2 noun1
: any of numerous edible marine mollusks that have two hinged shells and live in sand or mud
2
: a freshwater mussel
clam
2 of 2 verb
clammed; clamming
: to dig or gather clams
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