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Definition of "hamper" []

  • To prevent the free movement, action, or progress of. (verb-transitive)
  • Nautical Necessary but encumbering equipment on a ship. (noun)
  • A large basket, usually with a cover. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "hamper" in a sentence
  • "Except for my husband, who apparently has no clue what a clothes hamper is and what it is used for."
  • "Somewhere in the cellars of Downing Street a post-election celebratory hamper from the designer Kelly Hoppen sits unopened, as does a rug from the prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ties from Silvio Berlusconi and tennis rackets and wine from Nicolas Sarkozy."
  • "We had a built-in hamper/linen closet thing in the old master bath which shared a wall with the bedroom it was attached to."