̈ɪklæmp transitive verb (Lifestyle
and Leisure) To
immobilize (an illegally parked car) by attaching a
wheel clamp to
it.
Also, to
subject (a person) to
the experience of having
his or
her car clamped.
Etymology: A specialized
use of the verb,
which has existed in the
general sense 'to
make fast
with a clamp'
since the seventeenth
century.
History and
Usage:
For history and usage, see wheel clamp. In the
first eight weeks 4,358 vehicles
were clamped with the Denver
shoe.
Daily Telegraph 14
July 1983, p. 19 We've
been clamped!!
One just can't
avoid every potential hazard!!
Holiday Which?
Mar. 1990, p. 73