claim
Americanverb (used with object)
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claims,
present (3rd person singular)
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claimed,
past participle, past
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claiming
present participle
-
to demand by or as by virtue of a right; demand as a right or as due.
to claim an estate by inheritance.
-
to assert and demand the recognition of (a right, title, possession, etc.); assert one's right to.
to claim payment for services.
-
to assert or maintain as a fact.
She claimed that he was telling the truth.
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to require as due or fitting.
to claim respect.
verb (used without object)
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claims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
claimed,
past participle, past
-
claiming
present participle
noun
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claims
plural
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a demand for something as due; an assertion of a right or an alleged right.
He made unreasonable claims on the doctor's time.
- Synonyms:
- call, requisition, request
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an assertion of something as a fact.
He made no claims to originality.
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a right to claim or demand; a just title to something.
His claim to the heavyweight title is disputed.
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something that is claimed, especially a piece of public land for which formal request is made for mining or other purposes.
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a request or demand for payment in accordance with an insurance policy, a workers' compensation law, etc..
We filed a claim for compensation from the company.
idioms
verb
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to demand as being due or as one's property; assert one's title or right to
he claimed the record
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(takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to assert as a fact; maintain against denial
he claimed to be telling the truth
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to call for or need; deserve
this problem claims our attention
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to take
the accident claimed four lives
noun
-
an assertion of a right; a demand for something as due
-
an assertion of something as true, real, or factual
he made claims for his innocence
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a right or just title to something; basis for demand
a claim to fame
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to assert one's possession of or right to
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anything that is claimed, esp in a formal or legal manner, such as a piece of land staked out by a miner
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law a document under seal, issued in the name of the Crown or a court, commanding the person to whom it is addressed to do or refrain from doing some specified act former name writ 1
-
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a demand for payment in connection with an insurance policy, etc
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the sum of money demanded
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Usage
What does claim mean? To claim something is to maintain that the something is a fact, as in The company claims its product cures hiccups. A claim is the assertion of a fact, as in The claim that Shayna has a beautiful voice was proved when she began to sing. To claim is also to demand one’s right to something, such as to claim payment for a service given. As a noun, this claim can be the demand for that something, such as a claim on your time. Example: My ancestors laid claim to this land decades ago and I don't plan on letting it go any time soon.
Synonym Usage
See demand.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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claimernoun
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superclaimnoun
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misclaimverb (used with object)
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overclaimverb (used with object)
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preclaimverb (used with object)
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claimableadjective
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claimlessadjective
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nonclaimableadjective
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unclaimedadjective
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unclaimingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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claimsimple
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claimssimple
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have claimedperfect
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has claimedperfect
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am claimingprogressive
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are claimingprogressive
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is claimingprogressive
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have been claimingperfect progressive
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has been claimingperfect progressive
Past
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claimedsimple
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had claimedperfect
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was claimingprogressive
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were claimingprogressive
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had been claimingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of claim
First recorded in 1250–1300; (verb) Middle English claimen, from Anglo-French, Old French claimer, from Latin clāmāre “to cry out”; (noun) Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French cla(i)me; the noun is derivative of the verb
Explanation
When you express your right to something, you're making a claim to it, like telling your sister, "This bowl of cereal is mine." A claim is when you express your right to something that belongs to you, like your medical records or the deed to your home. When you make a claim or claim something, you're demanding it or saying it’s true. People claim dependents and deductions on their taxes. In court, you could claim you deserve money from an employer who cheated you. You could claim you can juggle chainsaws. With any kind of claim, you're going to have to prove it.
Vocabulary lists containing claim
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 1
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Argumentative Writing
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
One claim has yet to be settled according to the RCM.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Even Casemiro's biggest admirers could not claim United's current low running stats are because the 34-year-old left for Inter Miami in the summer.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
PIP is particularly valuable because it is a gateway to other incapacity payments and can remove a cap on the total amount of unemployment or housing benefits a family can claim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
He will claim that if he could secure that then "the vast majority of the public would expect us to take it".
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Father was at a place called Mtoroshanga and someday, Ambuya said, he would return to claim his daughter.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
NHS Resolution, which manages legal claims and compensation cases on behalf of the NHS in England, confirmed the payouts.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
The staff members behind the claims were found to have breathed it in over long shifts for months and years.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
After Art of Play’s response, Clarkson doubled down on her claims on Instagram with photos disputing the shop’s statement and detailing what she recalled of their interaction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
He did not comment directly on the UAE prosecutor's claims.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
Jacob Soll claims that the young man is Guidobaldo da Montefeltro himself and remarks.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Burnham claimed these agreements could add the equivalent of £10bn per year to the economy by 2040, arguing that it would be a "dereliction of duty" to turn away from the chance to cut bureaucracy.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Dolly Parton’s estate has claimed that the late country music icon’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, went to extraordinary lengths to evade being served with a summons—including allegedly draping barbed wire around the entrance to his property.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
Ortiz said her husband pursued that avenue, signing an application a year ago that claimed he suffered psychologically during the couple’s split.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and his allies on Friday claimed an easy victory in the union’s election, cementing Fain’s leadership of one of the most powerful forces in American organized labor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
I guess the pixies had claimed this gold as their own.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
A military police investigator has criticised a murder probe into alleged SAS executions, claiming senior officers prevented his team from following the evidence.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Most painful for the Chargers is that they came tantalizingly close to winning, claiming their first lead in the third quarter only to hand it back with three consecutive drive-killing turnovers in the fourth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
But Norwich Apex Data Centre has defended the scheme, claiming assessments showed it would not harm protected areas like Marston Marshes.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
The pair have asked a US judge to dismiss the charges against them, claiming they have immunity as president and first lady of a sovereign country.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Jefferson defended himself by claiming that his consultations with Bache were not clandestine meetings; he had met with Bache many times, true enough, but he was not, as the Federalists charged, “closeted” with him.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
