claim
Americanverb (used with object)
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to demand by or as by virtue of a right; demand as a right or as due.
to claim an estate by inheritance.
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to assert and demand the recognition of (a right, title, possession, etc.); assert one's right to.
to claim payment for services.
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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)
noun
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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
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an assertion of a right; a demand for something as due
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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:
The claim that ELI has taken the same approach in China and the U.S. is even harder to credit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
As policing theorist Mark Neocleous has argued, pacification is the production of order by the very forces that create the danger they claim to manage.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Riyadh is yet to comment on the claim.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Johnson & Johnson said it would pay up to $3 billion in claim payments in 2027 under the agreement, with no further payments due before 2028.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
“I have never made claim to being an archaeologist,” he stated.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
The company had been facing nearly 80,000 claims that this deal would resolve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Diplomatic tensions have also grown between South Africa and Ghana following claims that a Ghanaian man was killed during anti-migrant protests in South Africa, allegations South African officials have rejected.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Movements argue about the Constitution, organize around it, and sometimes make claims powerful enough that courts later recognize them as law.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
As for claims that the substance mimics the amino acid profile of human skin, Rogers said the comparison is often overstated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
She claims it wasn’t, but who knows if that’s the truth?
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
No group claimed responsibility, but Riyadh called on Baghdad to prevent such attacks from being launched from its territory.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Astronomers have claimed that the closure of Lovell and the e-MERLIN network will mean that Britain will fall behind in a field that was pioneered at Jodrell Bank.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Federal agents claimed public safety by conducting dragnet stops.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
In 2019, the Houthis claimed responsibility for attacking Abqaiq, a strike that cut the kingdom’s oil production in half.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Mal scraped the jam pot clean, then stole some off Christopher’s plate and claimed she hadn’t.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
They were not claiming the state’s police power for themselves but acting as though they already had a legitimate claim to ensuring the entire community’s safety.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
He is due to appear in court on August 3 to face fraud and money-laundering charges, which he denies, claiming to be the continued victim of "persecution."
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
“There’s no secret anymore that it was a big goal winning here,” Pogacar said matter of factly after claiming his fifth stage victory of this Tour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
BuzzBallz blamed a website error for claiming they were recyclable via Terracycle, a US-only scheme, but did not comment on its now-deleted FAQ that said they were recyclable where UK councils allow.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Back in New York he seems to have spied for the British while claiming to be a Son of Liberty.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
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.
