wheel clamp

wheel clamp — noun

IPA/ˈwiːl klæmp/
IPA/ˈwiːl klæmp/

1. a heavy metal lock that officials fix onto one wheel of a badly parked car, hold

1.nounB2
Definition

a heavy metal lock that officials fix onto one wheel of a badly parked car, holding it in place until the driver pays the fine they owe

Example

A traffic officer fitted a yellow wheel clamp onto Hamza's car outside the station.

fit / put a wheel clamp on [a car]

Allison had to pay sixty pounds before the council would take off the wheel clamp.

remove / take off the wheel clamp

Common collocations
  • fit a wheel clamp
  • remove a wheel clamp
  • release a wheel clamp
Synonyms
  • boot

    American English term for the same device

  • Denver boot

    American, more formal or technical name

Usage Note

Chiefly British; American English usually says 'boot' or 'Denver boot' for the same device. The clamp is fitted by an authority or landowner, not by the driver.

Common Mistakes

The police put a wheel block on my car.
The police put a wheel clamp on my car.
the fixed term is 'wheel clamp', not 'wheel block'.

wheel clamp — verb

IPA/ˈwiːl.klæmp/
IPA/ˈwiːl.klæmp/

Word family

  • wheel-clamp
    verbB2
  • wheel-clamping
    nounB2

Common collocations

Nouns

  • wheel clamp removal
  • wheel clamp fee

Phrases

  • fit a wheel clamp
  • remove a wheel clamp
  • get wheel-clamped

Prepositions

  • a wheel clamp on [a car]

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

A modern compound formed from 'wheel' (the round part a car turns on) and 'clamp' (a tool that grips two things tightly together). The device and the term spread in Britain from the 1980s as cities began locking the wheels of illegally parked cars.