A clamp meter is an electrical test tool that combines a basic digital multimeter with a current sensor.

Clamps measure current. Probes measure voltage. Having a hinged jaw integrated into an electrical meter allows technicians to clamp the jaws around a wire, cable or other conductor at any point in an electrical system, then measure current in that circuit without disconnecting/deenergizing it.

Beneath their plastic moldings, hard jaws consist of ferrite iron and are engineered to detect, concentrate and measure the magnetic field being generated by current as it flows through a conductor.