clay
a natural earthy material that is plastic when wet, consisting essentially of hydrated silicates of aluminum: used for making bricks, pottery, etc.
earth; mud.
earth, especially regarded as the material from which the human body was formed.
the human body, especially as distinguished from the spirit or soul; the flesh.
human character as estimated according to fineness of constitution, endowments, etc.: The saints and heroes seem of a different clay from most of us.
to treat or mix with clay; cover, daub, or fill with clay.
to filter through clay.
Origin of clay
1Other words from clay
- clay·like, adjective
- un·clayed, adjective
Words Nearby clay
Other definitions for Clay (2 of 2)
Bertha M. Charlotte Monica Braeme, 1836–84, English author: originator of a long series of romantic novels.
Cassius Marcellus, 1810–1903, U.S. antislavery leader and diplomat.
Cassius Marcellus, Jr., original name of Muhammad Ali.
Henry, 1777–1852, U.S. statesman and orator.
Lucius (Du·Bi·gnon) [doo-bin-yon], /ˌdu bɪnˈyɒn/, 1897–1978, U.S. general.
a male given name.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use clay in a sentence
When you melt the clay, you destroy the statue but you don’t destroy the clay from which the statue is formed.
The Universe Knows Right from Wrong - Issue 89: The Dark Side | Philip Goff | September 9, 2020 | NautilusThe Millennium engineers called for a clay covering to protect the embankment from erosion, as well as closely monitoring the project.
New Engineering Report Finds Privately Built Border Wall Will Fail | by Jeremy Schwartz and Perla Trevizo | September 2, 2020 | ProPublicaThe water was yellowish, thick, full of clay, stinking of oil and sewage.
What’s new is breaking the clay down to a nanoparticle level and getting a liquid substance that can be easily sprayed onto land.
A Norwegian Startup Is Turning Dry Deserts Into Fertile Cropland | Vanessa Bates Ramirez | August 19, 2020 | Singularity HubHe explains that the dinos had been walking on a surface of clay.
The challenge of dinosaur hunting in deep caves | John Pickrell | May 19, 2020 | Science News For Students
But, together, Webster, clay, and Calhoun delayed the Civil War for 40 years.
clay engineered the morally indefensible Missouri Compromise.
From the 1820s to the 1850s, the upper house was dominated by Daniel Webster, Henry clay, and John Calhoun.
It just changed into something quite dark and unattractive with clay, and was a unique moment in my artistic career.
Horace was athletic and clever, known, probably apocryphally, as the fastest cotton picker in clay County.
The British had fired 143 cannon shot into the fort before the arrival of Gen. clay.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellOnly the laborers on the plantations smoke small clay pipes.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.They use those with long, straight stems, and both their clay and porcelain pipes are of the finest form and finish.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.Papier maché buttons came in with Henry clay's patent in 1778.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter ShowellIt is the custom in the English forts to make every Indian who comes to trade, a present of a clay pipe filled with tobacco.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.
British Dictionary definitions for clay (1 of 2)
/ (kleɪ) /
a very fine-grained material that consists of hydrated aluminium silicate, quartz, and organic fragments and occurs as sedimentary rocks, soils, and other deposits. It becomes plastic when moist but hardens on heating and is used in the manufacture of bricks, cement, ceramics, etc: Related adjective: figuline
earth or mud in general
poetic the material of the human body
(tr) to cover or mix with clay
Origin of clay
1Derived forms of clay
- clayey, clayish or claylike, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Clay (2 of 2)
/ (kleɪ) /
Cassius: See Muhammad Ali
Henry. 1777–1852, US statesman and orator; secretary of state (1825–29)
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
Scientific definitions for clay
[ klā ]
A stiff, sticky sedimentary material that is soft and pliable when wet and consists mainly of various silicates of aluminum. Clay particles are smaller than silt, having a diameter less than 0.0039 mm. Clay is widely used to make bricks, pottery, and tiles.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with clay
In addition to the idiom beginning with clay
- clay pigeon
also see:
- feet of clay
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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