Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CLAMBER
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You know this word, clamber, but do you use it abstractly? It's such a fantastic visual image.
It might have arisen as a frequentative form of climb, meaning it expresses frequent, or repeated, climbing.
So basically, you could define clamber as "climb, climb, climb, climb, climb!"
Let's recall some more frequentative forms we've bumped into:
1. Scu__le, "to move along with quick little steps," might come from scud, which means "to move quickly."
2. Flutter might come from fl__, which means "to move in a quick, light way."
3. And d___le, meaning "to get involved just a little bit," comes from dab.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"CLAMBER"
This word probably comes from "climb," in the same way that "chatter" comes from "chat" and "glimmer" comes from "gleam."
To clamber, literally, is to climb in an awkward, effortful way, often with hands and feet.
And to clamber figuratively is to talk or behave in an awkward, effortful way as you're working on some process or working toward some goal, as if you're climbing up or along with both hands and feet.
Pronunciation:
CLAM bur
Part of speech:
Verb, usually the intransitive kind: "she clambered over the rocks," "he clambered up in the ranks."
Other forms:
Clambered, clambering, clamberer(s).
"Clamber" can also be a noun, meaning "an act of climbing awkwardly," as in, "Our clamber over the rocks was noisy."
How to use it:
This word is common and informal.
Clambering is most often a movement upwards, and sometimes across or downwards, whether literally or figuratively--but as long as the movement you're describing has at a least a touch of clumsiness or awkwardness, you can call it clambering.
You can be literal and talk about children, adults, and animals clambering. Usually we tack on a prepositional phrase: "we clambered up the hill," "he clambered back to his feet," "she clambered onto the roof," "they paid for their margaritas and clambered back into the riverboat."
And you can be figurative and talk about people or things clambering: "vines clamber up the brick chimney," "he clambered his way into her heart," "she's clambering up in the polls," "somehow he and his trademark hair clambered into power."
I'd love to see "clamber" used figuratively more often, so let me suggest one more way to do it. Take something abstract, like love or hope or anxiety, and personify it by saying that it is clambering--or toss in a simile by saying that it's like some clambering creature. Here's D. H. Lawrence:
LOVE has crept out of her sealéd heart
As a field-bee, black and amber,
Breaks from the winter-cell, to clamber
Up the warm grass where the sunbeams start.
examples:
"As a species, we clamber for places where there are natural materials all around us."
— Michael Green, as quoted by Leyland Cecco, The Guardian, 22 July 2019
"The hype trains touting NFL offseason activity typically start leaving their stations each January, when new head coaches are hired and fan bases are fired up about the fresh start... The first-round draft picks clamber aboard at the end of April."
— Dave Campbell, Associated Press, 21 December 2018
has this page helped you understand "clamber"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "clamber" without saying "scramble" or "climb awkwardly."
try it out:
Edward Arlington Robinson wrote:
As long as Fame's imperious music rings
Will poets mock it with crowned words august;
And haggard men will clamber to be kings
As long as Glory weighs itself in dust.
To my mind, Robinson is saying here that people will always clamber for positions of leadership and power.
Talk about whether you agree or disagree with this idea.
That is, when you witness campaigns and races for positions of power, whether they're for the presidency of the nation, of the student government, or of the PTA or the HOA, do you think most of the candidates are clambering for these positions? Which of their words and behaviors seem awkward, effortful, and even desperate, as if they're climbing on all fours? How would a candidate have to act, speak, and carry himself or herself in order to avoid the appearance of clambering?
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month: Anagrams!
Rearrange the letters in the given word to form a word we've studied before. Try to recall its meaning, too.
For example, if I give you DYED, you give me EDDY. If I give you THREAD, you give me DEARTH. And if I give you COTERIES, you give me ESOTERIC.
Try this one today: HARDY.
Give yourself 5 points if you can figure out the word without clues. To reveal the clues, hover over the blue text below.
Give yourself 4 points if you figure it out after peeking at the part of speech: Noun.
Give yourself 3 points if you figure it out after peeking at the definition: a problem that's really, really hard to solve because it's so complicated and so persistent.
Give yourself 2 points if you figure it out after peeking at the first letter: H.
Give yourself 1 point if you figure it out after peeking at the first two letters: HY.
And if you'd like to reveal or review the word, click here.
review this word:
1. A near opposite of CLAMBER is
A. GLIDE.
B. GLISTEN.
C. GLOBALIZE.
2. The _____ clambered _____.
A. earthworm .. from the damp soil into the fresh air
B. mountain goat .. across the steep face of the rock
C. songbird .. down to the highest, most slender branch
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
You know this word, clamber, but do you use it abstractly? It's such a fantastic visual image.
"CLAMBER" This word probably comes from "climb," in the same way that "chatter" comes from "chat" and "glimmer" comes from "gleam."
"As a species, we clamber for places where there are natural materials all around us."
Explain the meaning of "clamber" without saying "scramble" or "climb awkwardly."
Edward Arlington Robinson wrote:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of CLAMBER is
|