clam up
English · Thesaurus
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clam up
Where it comes from
By analogy with a clam closing itself. Compare clamshell (“mouth”), clam (“mouth”).
verb clams up · clamming up · clammed up
-
To become silent; to stop talking.
Maybe he … or she … was a witness who refused to clam up … a whistle blower …
Similar: shut up, shut up like a clam
- To make or become clammy.
Opposite: talk
Thesaurus
verb
Opposite: talk
Translations
Every language
verb become silent
| Español | callarse |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 黙ってしまう damatte shimau |
| Português | fechar-se |
| Français | la fermer, fermer son clapet, fermer son claque-merde, la boucler |
| Deutsch | schweigen |
| Italiano | tacere |
| Ελληνικά | σωπαίνω sopaíno |
| Русский | замолка́ть zamolkátʹ, замолча́ть zamolčátʹ |
Talk about this word "clam up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/clam%20up. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. clam up. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/clam%20up "clam up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/clam%20up.Cite this
@misc{clam_up_2026,
title = {clam up},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/clam%20up},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
