Meaning & use
clomping
Last updated
“clomping” is a form of “clomp”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Walking heavily and noisily, with loud steps.
Grammar: Used without an object; often followed by an adverb or preposition like 'around', 'up', 'down', or 'through'.
Patterns
- clomp around
- clomp up something
- clomp down something
- clomp through something
She came clomping down the stairs in her heavy boots.
The children were clomping around the house, making a terrible noise.
He clomped through the muddy field, not caring about the mess.
nouncountable or uncountable
The loud, heavy sound made by someone walking with big steps.
Grammar: Often used with 'the' or 'a': 'I heard a clomping on the roof.' It can also be uncountable: 'The clomping of boots woke me up.'
Patterns
- the clomping of something
- a clomping sound
I heard the clomping of hooves on the road.
There was a loud clomping from the apartment above.
Word forms
| third person singular | clomps |
|---|---|
| past tense | clomped |
| past participle | clomped |
| present participle | clomping |
Common combinations
- clomping around
- The kids were clomping around in their new shoes.
- clomping down the stairs
- She came clomping down the stairs, late for school.
- clomping through the snow
- We clomped through the snow in our thick boots.
- the clomping of boots
- The clomping of boots on the wooden floor echoed in the hall.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stomping
- Similar, but 'stomping' often suggests anger or deliberate force, while 'clomping' just emphasizes the loud, heavy sound.
- tramping
- This means walking heavily, especially for a long distance; 'clomping' is more about the noise of each step.
Opposites
Word family
- clomp verb
- The base form, meaning to walk heavily and noisily.
Commonly confused: clomping or clumping?
clomping vs clumping
This means forming a mass or group, or walking with a dull sound; 'clomping' is specifically about loud, heavy steps.
Practice
The horse came ______ along the road, its hooves loud on the stones.
Choose one answer.
The correct answer is 'clomping' because after the verb 'came' we need the -ing form to describe the action in progress. 'Clomped' would need a different structure, like 'The horse clomped along the road.'
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “clomping”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.