[klamp] 
| 1. | a device, usually of some rigid material, for strengthening or supporting objects or fastening them together. |
| 2. | an appliance with opposite sides or parts that may be adjusted or brought closer together to hold or compress something. |
| 3. | one of a pair of movable pieces, made of lead or other soft material, for covering the jaws of a vise and enabling it to grasp without bruising. |
| 4. | Also called clamp rail. Carpentry. a rail having a groove or a number of mortises for receiving the ends of a number of boards to bind them into a flat piece, as a drawing board or door. |
| 5. | Nautical.
|
| 6. | to fasten with or fix in a clamp. |
| 7. | clamp down, to become more strict: There were too many tax loopholes, so the government clamped down. |
| 8. | clamp down on, to impose or increase controls on. |
clamp (klāmp)
n.
An instrument for the compression or grasping of a structure.