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clump - 8 dictionary results

clump

  [kluhmp]
Use clump in a Sentence
–noun
1. a small, close group or cluster, esp. of trees or other plants.
2. a lump or mass
3. a heavy, thumping step, sound, etc.
4. Immunology. a cluster of agglutinated bacteria, red blood cells, etc.
5. a thick extra sole on a shoe.
–verb (used without object)
6. Also, clomp. to walk heavily and clumsily.
7. Immunology. to gather or be gathered into clumps; agglutinate.
–verb (used with object)
8. to gather or form into a clump; mass.
Origin:
1580–90; akin to D klompe lump, mass, OE clympre lump of metal

Related forms:
clumpy, clumpish, clumplike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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clump   (klŭmp)   
n.  
  1. A clustered mass; a lump: clumps of soil.
  2. A thick grouping, as of trees or bushes.
  3. A heavy dull sound; a thud.
v.   clumped, clump·ing, clumps

v.   intr.
  1. To form lumps or thick groupings.
  2. To walk or move so as to make a heavy dull sound.
v.   tr.
To gather into or form lumps or thick groupings of.

[Probably Low German klump, from Middle Low German klumpe, cluster of trees.]
clump'y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Clump

Clump\ (kl[u^]mp), n. [Cf. D. klomp lump, G. klump, klumpen, Dan. klump, Sw. klump; perh. akin to L. globus, E. globe. Cf. Club.]

1. An unshaped piece or mass of wood or other substance.

2. A cluster; a group; a thicket.

A clump of shrubby trees. --Hawthorne.

3. The compressed clay of coal strata. --Brande & C.

Clump

Clump\, v. t. To arrange in a clump or clumps; to cluster; to group. --Blackmore.

Clump

Clump\, v. i. To tread clumsily; to clamp. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : clump
Spanish: grupo,
German: die (Baum-) Gruppe,
Japanese: 木の茂み
More Translations »

clump 
1586, from Du. klomp "lump, mass," or Low Ger. klump. O.E. had clympre "lump, mass of metal." The verb "to tread heavily" is first recorded 1665.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: 1clump
Pronunciation: 'kl&mp
Function: noun
: a clustered mass of particles (as bacteria or blood cells) —compare AGGLUTINATION

Main Entry: 2clump
Function: intransitive verb
: to form clumps clump transitive senses
: to arrange in or cause to form clumpsclumps the bacteria>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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