clump

1 of 2

noun

1
: a group of things clustered together
a clump of bushes
2
: a compact mass
3
: a heavy tramping sound
clumpy adjective

clump

2 of 2

verb

clumped; clumping; clumps

intransitive verb

1
: to walk or move clumsily and noisily
2
: to form clumps

transitive verb

: to arrange in or cause to form clumps

Examples of clump in a Sentence

Noun There is a clump of bushes at the edge of the field. I could hear the clump of his footsteps as he came down the stairs. Verb The virus clumps the cells together. a child clumping around the house in her father's oversized boots
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
About 70 feet down, the rover would see purple clumps along the lakebed formed by cyanobacteria, a microorganism that thrives in habitats like sinkholes that are high in sulfate and low in oxygen. Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 18 Apr. 2025 Plants grow from a thick rhizome and spread to form dense clumps that benefit from late summer division every few years. Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 13 Apr. 2025
Verb
Types of Kitty Litter (and When to Use Them) Types of litter vary based on consistency, clumping ability, and scent. Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Apr. 2025 Tiny grains of dust scattered across the cosmos can collect in disks around young stars and clump together to eventually form planets. Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 20 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for clump

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably from Low German klump

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1665, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of clump was circa 1586

Cite this Entry

“Clump.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clump. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

clump

1 of 2 noun
1
: a group of things clustered together
a clump of bushes
2
: a cluster or lump of something
3
: a heavy tramping sound
clumpy adjective

clump

2 of 2 verb
1
: to walk or move clumsily and noisily
2
: to form or cause to form clumps

Medical Definition

clump

1 of 2 noun
: a clustered mass of particles (as bacteria or blood cells) compare agglutination

clump

2 of 2 intransitive verb
: to form clumps

transitive verb

: to arrange in or cause to form clumps
the serum clumps the bacteria

More from Merriam-Webster on clump

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