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crampon

[ kram-pon ]

noun

  1. a spiked iron plate worn on boots or shoes for aid in climbing or to prevent slipping on ice, snow, etc.
  2. a device for grasping and lifting heavy loads, usually consisting of a pair of hooks suspended from a chain or cable, the upward pull on which provides tension for the hooks to grip the load on opposite sides.


crampon

/ ˈkræmpən /

noun

  1. one of a pair of pivoted steel levers used to lift heavy objects; grappling iron
  2. often plural one of a pair of frames each with 10 or 12 metal spikes, strapped to boots for climbing or walking on ice or snow


verb

  1. to climb using crampons

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Word History and Origins

Origin of crampon1

1275–1325; Middle English cra ( u ) mpon < Old French crampon < Old Low Franconian *krampo, cognate with Old High German krampfo, Middle Dutch crampe; cramp 2

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Word History and Origins

Origin of crampon1

C15: from French, from Middle Dutch crampe hook; see cramp ²

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Example Sentences

You can hear the front points of his crampons digging into a hanging dagger of ice and the tip of his ice axes scraping against the limestone.

After testing the studded version over multiple days on an ice-packed city creek trail with steep ups and downs, I found that the shoes gripped as well as hiking crampons.

Mitsu, in a rush to pack and leave his home in Portland, Oregon, had forgotten his crampons and thought he might be able to make do with his ski crampons.

Abi and I kept fairly close to each other all the way up, and Mitsu made it about two-thirds of the way to the top of the gully before throwing in the towel—he didn’t feel good about trying to finish the climb without crampons.

If you’ve ever been in a situation where you needed snowshoes and ice crampons, what you really needed was the Honey Badger.

Outside the bandages I wore six pairs of thick woollen socks, fur boots and a crampon over-shoe of soft leather.

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cramp ironcramp someone's style