Cramp

Definitions

1. A surname.
2. A painful contraction of a muscle which cannot be controlled; (sometimes) a similar pain even without noticeable contraction.
   countable, uncountable
3. That which confines or contracts.
   countable, uncountable
4. A clamp for carpentry or masonry.
   countable, uncountable
5. 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.
   countable, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“He retired hurt⟳ at 31 due to a leg cramp.”

“August 1534, Margaret Roper (or Thomas More in her name⟳), letter to Alice Alington the cramp also that divers nights gripeth him in his legs.”

“A narrow Fortune is undoubtedly a Cramp to a great Mind⟳.”

“How does it grate upon his thankleſs ear, / Crippling his pleaſures with the cramp of fear!”

CEFR level