hamper

1. 1.

   prevent the progress or free movement of

   “He was hampered in his efforts by the bad weather”

   “the imperialist nation wanted to strangle the free trade between the two small countries”

   Synonymshaltercrampstrangle

   Broaderrestrict
2. 2.

   put at a disadvantage

   “The brace I have to wear is hindering my movements”

   Synonymshandicaphinder

   Broaderdisadvantage

Other forms of hamper

plural

hampers·

past tense

hamperred·

present participle

hamperring·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about hamper

What does hamper mean?

hamper means "a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner)". That is the primary sense; the word has 4 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in hamper?

hamper has 2 syllables: ham-per. The stress falls on "ham". In IPA it is /ˈhæmpɚ/.

What is another word for hamper?

Close synonyms include shackle, bond, trammel, halter, cramp. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is hamper a common word?

hamper is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.