hamper

Everyday

1. A hamper is a large basket with a lid, used to carry food for a picnic or as a gift full of treats. tree →
2. (US) A hamper is a basket for dirty clothes (laundry hamper). tree →
3. To hamper means to get in the way of something and make it slower or harder. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life in the UK, Ireland and Australia, a Christmas hamper is a gift basket of food. In the US, the hamper is where dirty laundry goes. In stories and news, «the rescue was hampered by bad weather» means it was made harder. Phrases: picnic hamper, Christmas hamper, laundry hamper.

Examples

• We packed sandwiches into the picnic hamper. tree →
• Granny got a Christmas hamper full of cheese and chutney. tree →
• Put your dirty socks in the hamper. tree →
• Heavy snow hampered the rescue team. tree →
• The broken wheel hampered our progress. tree →
• A sore ankle hampered her running. tree →
• The hamper had a little drawer for the knives and forks. tree →
• As she spoke she shuffled towards the hamper of cabbages, took up one after another, squeezed them hard, and threw them back, muttering again, ‘Bad stuff, bad stuff.’ tree →

Note

Two different words: the basket (noun) and «to hamper» (verb, to hinder). The verb is a bit formal; everyday words are «slow down» or «get in the way of».