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Added 9 October 2026

clamber

/ˈklæmbə/ verb

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about clamber at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To climb (something) with some difficulty, or in a haphazard fashion.
The children clambered over the jungle gym.

noun

The act of clambering; a difficult or haphazard climb.

Origin

From Middle English clambren, clameren, clemeren (“to climb, clamber; to crawl, creep”), then either: * possibly from clam, clamb, clemb, past tense of climben (“to climb, get over; to ascend, rise”), and influenced by Old English clæmman (“to press”); or * from Old English *clambrian, from Proto-Germanic *klambrōną or *klambizōną. The English word is cognate with Low German klemmern, klempern (“to climb”), Scots clammer (“to clamber”); and compare also Danish klamre (“to cling”), Icelandic klambra, klembra (“to pinch closely together; clamp”), Swedish klamra (“to cling”). The noun is derived from the verb.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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