clamping down
noun
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.
a.
a horizontal timber in a wooden hull, secured to ribs to support deck beams and to provide longitudinal strength.
b.
verb (used with object)
6.
to fasten with or fix in a clamp.
00:10
Clamping down
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
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.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English (noun) < Middle Dutch clampe clamp, cleat; cognate with Middle Low German klampe
1350–1400; Middle English (noun) < Middle Dutch clampe clamp, cleat; cognate with Middle Low German klampe
Related forms
un·clamped, adjective
Synonyms
6. clinch, clench, secure.
6. clinch, clench, secure.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To clamping down
Collins
World English Dictionary
clamp1 (klæmp) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a mechanical device with movable jaws with which an object can be secured to a bench or with which two objects may be secured together |
| 2. | See also wheel clamp |
| 3. | a means by which a fixed joint may be strengthened |
| 4. | nautical a horizontal beam fastened to the ribs for supporting the deck beams in a wooden vessel |
| —vb | |
| 5. | to fix or fasten with or as if with a clamp |
| 6. | to immobilize (a car) by means of a wheel clamp |
| 7. | to inflict or impose forcefully: they clamped a curfew on the town |
| [C14: from Dutch or Low German klamp; related to Old English clamm bond, fetter, Old Norse kleppr lump] | |
| clamp2 (klæmp) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a mound formed out of a harvested root crop, covered with straw and earth to protect it from winter weather |
| 2. | a pile of bricks ready for processing in a furnace |
| —vb | |
| 3. | (tr) to enclose (a harvested root crop) in a mound |
| [C16: from Middle Dutch klamp heap; related to | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
clamp
1304, probably from clamb, orig. pt. of climb, or from M.Du. klampe, from W.Gmc. *klamp- "clamp, cleat." The verb is from 1677.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
clamp (klāmp)
n.
An instrument for the compression or grasping of a structure.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Nearby Words
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