cramp
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cramp¹
- /kɹæmp/
Rhymes with -æmp
Where it comes from
From Middle English crampe, from Old French crampe (“cramp”), from Frankish *krampa (“cramp”), from Proto-West Germanic *krampu, from Proto-Germanic *krampō (“cramp, clasp”). Distant relative of English crop.
noun cramps
- A painful contraction of a muscle which cannot be controlled; (sometimes) a similar pain even without noticeable contraction. He retired hurt at 31 due to a leg cramp.
- That which confines or contracts. A narrow Fortune is undoubtedly a Cramp to a great Mind.
- A clamp for carpentry or masonry.
- A piece of wood having a curve corresponding to that of the upper part of the instep, on which the upper leather of a boot is stretched to give it the requisite shape.
verb cramps · cramping · cramped
- (of a muscle) To contract painfully and uncontrollably.
- To affect with cramps or spasms. The collar of the tunic scratched my neck, the steel helmet made my head ache, and the puttees cramped my leg muscles.
- To prohibit movement or expression of. You're cramping my style.
- To restrain to a specific physical position, as if with a cramp. You're going to need to cramp the wheels on this hill.
- To fasten or hold with, or as if with, a cramp iron.
- To bind together; to unite. The […] fabric of universal justice is well cramped and bolted together in all its parts.
- To form on a cramp. to cramp boot legs
adjective more cramp · most cramp
- cramped; narrow […] the result was those folio volumes of MSS. now in the British Museum, in which inquirers into the history of that period find so much interesting material in such a confused state and in such a dreadfully cramp handwriting.
Cramp²
proper noun Cramps
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: hamper, spasm, halter, cramp iron, crick, kink, clamp, band, contraction, writer's cramp, convulsion, clenching, strain, spazm, spasming, throe
Translations
Every language
noun painful contraction of a muscle
| Español | calambre, rampa, acalambramiento, arratonamiento |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 쥐 jwi |
| 日本語 | 痙攣 keiren |
| 中文 | 抽筋(兒) /抽筋 |
| Português | cãibra |
| Français | crampe |
| Deutsch | Krampf |
| Italiano | crampo |
| Ελληνικά | κράμπα krámpa |
| Română | crampă, cârcel |
| Русский | спазм spazm, су́дорога súdoroga |
| Tiếng Việt | chuột rút, vọp bẻ |
| العربية | تَشَنُّج tašannuj, شَدٌّ عَضَلِيّ šaddun ʕaḍaliyy |
verb to contract painfully and uncontrollably
| Español | acalambrarse, encalambrarse, arratonarse |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 攣る tsuru |
| Deutsch | krampfen |
| Italiano | paralizzare, contrarre |
| Română | se crispa |
| Русский | своди́ть судорогой svodítʹ |
verb to prohibit movement or expression
| Español | coartar |
|---|---|
| Italiano | paralizzare, inibire, bloccare, atrofizzare |
| Русский | стеснять stesnjatʹ, ограни́чивать ograníčivatʹ |
verb to restrain to a specific physical position
| Italiano | limitare |
|---|---|
| Русский | фикси́ровать fiksírovatʹ |
adj cramped; narrow
| Русский | неразборчивый nerazborčivyj |
|---|
Talk about this word "cramp." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cramp. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. cramp. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cramp "cramp." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cramp.Cite this
@misc{cramp_2026,
title = {cramp},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cramp},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
