clause

American  

[klawz] / klɔz /

noun

• clauses
  plural

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.

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clause British  

/ 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

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clause Cultural  

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subclause
  noun
• clausal
  adjective
• subclausal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• clauses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of clause

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

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Explanation

A clause is a group of words with a subject and verb. That kind of clause is handy when talking about grammar. Another kind of clause is a provision or stipulation in a legal contract. Clause is a noun that comes from the old French clause, which, if we trace it way back, comes from the Latin clausula, “the end, a closing termination.” Around 1300, the “ending” implication of the word began to fade and was replaced by “article or section of a text.” In the grammatical sense, every sentence must have at least one independent clause. And in the legal sense, documents like prenuptial agreements or job contract often contain clauses.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clause clauses

“The King Under the Mountain: In Search of J.R.R. Tolkien” is not a biography of Tolkien, something implied by that “In Search of” clause.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

The foreign emoluments clause prohibits all federal officials from accepting gifts of valuables, office, or title from any foreign country without express congressional consent.

From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026

One clause, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency, is “safeguarding national and regional security by maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

The vote of five siblings to sell the shares triggered the termination clause in the trust, and the filing argues that the trust doesn’t grant trustees discretion to disregard a valid vote to terminate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

The psychiatrist who wrote the first blooper presumably intended his second clause to convey a temporal sequence between two events: the patient saw the doctor, and since that time she has been depressed.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

The Framers’ fear of corruption is also evident in the Constitution’s emoluments clauses.

From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026

A few states with new balcony solar bills have included clauses that protect renters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

The F1 engine regulations contain clauses that require manufacturers to supply engines to customers if so requested, but not in their first season.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Meanwhile, it reports that hedge funds and banks have "hit out" at "Burnham's bid to ban non-compete clauses in work contracts".

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

During the Jim Crow era, African Americans were denied the right to vote through poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and felon disenfranchisement laws, even though the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

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Related Words

• article
• paragraph
• passage
• provision
• requirement
• section
• specification
• stipulation

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