cling
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to adhere closely; stick to.
The wet paper clings to the glass.
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to hold tight, as by grasping or embracing; cleave.
The children clung to each other in the dark.
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to be or remain close.
The child clung to her mother's side.
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to remain attached, as to an idea, hope, memory, etc..
Despite the predictions, the candidate clung to the belief that he would be elected.
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to cohere.
noun
noun
verb
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(often foll by to) to hold fast or adhere closely (to something), as by gripping or sticking
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(foll by together) to remain in contact (with each other)
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to be or remain physically or emotionally close
to cling to outmoded beliefs
noun
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agriculture the tendency of cotton fibres in a sample to stick to each other
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obsolete agriculture diarrhoea or scouring in animals
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short for clingstone
Other Word Forms
- clinger noun
- clinginess noun
- clinging adjective
- clingingly adverb
- clingingness noun
- clingy adjective
- unclinging adjective
Etymology
Origin of cling1
First recorded before 900; Middle English clingen, Old English clingan “to stick together, shrink, wither”; akin to clench
Origin of cling1
1835–45; by shortening from clingstone, or special use of cling 1 (noun)
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.
Allen said he still wanted to keep getting to know me, and I clung to that hope.
From Los Angeles Times
Among the hardest-hit areas in the region is southern Thailand, where flooding left residents of Hat Yai clinging to rooftops awaiting rescue by boat.
From Barron's
The question carries a quiet kind of rebellion I especially savor this time of year: why cling to a tradition that no longer delights?
From Salon
Defender Dan Burn called it "10 minutes of madness" and, while Howe clung to "positive signs", this was another painful defeat.
From BBC
Sunday's comeback kings are both clinging to play-off hopes but have very little margin for error - so this will have a post-season feel.
From BBC
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.
