clause

[ klawz ]
See synonyms for: clauseclauses on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. Grammar. a syntactic construction containing a subject and predicate and forming part of a sentence or constituting a whole simple sentence.

  2. a distinct article or provision in a contract, treaty, will, or other formal or legal written document.

Origin of clause

1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English claus(e), from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin clausa, back formation from Latin clausula clausula

Other words from clause

  • clausal, adjective
  • sub·claus·al, adjective
  • subclause, noun

Words that may be confused with clause

Words Nearby clause

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How to use clause in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for clause

clause

/ (klɔːz) /


noun
  1. grammar a group of words, consisting of a subject and a predicate including a finite verb, that does not necessarily constitute a sentence: See also main clause, subordinate clause, coordinate clause

  2. a section of a legal document such as a contract, will, or draft statute

Origin of clause

1
C13: from Old French, from Medieval Latin clausa a closing (of a rhetorical period), back formation from Latin clausula, from claudere to close

Derived forms of clause

  • clausal, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for clause

clause

A group of words in a sentence that contains a subject and predicate. (See dependent clause and independent clause.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.