claque

[ klak ]

/ klæk /

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WATCH NOW: Claque: Visual Word of the Day

WATCH NOW: Claque: Visual Word of the Day

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noun

a group of persons hired to applaud an act or performer.

a group of sycophants.

Nearby words

clappy-doo, clapt, clapton, clapton's line, claptrap, claque, claqueur, clar., clara, clarabella, clarabelle

Origin of claque

1860–65; < French, derivative of claquer to clap

Can be confused

claque clique

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for claque

To save the banking system, Greenspan, along with a claque of Republicans like Lindsey Graham, now endorses nationalization.
The Naked Truth|Tina Brown|February 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Is there anything in the world so disgusting as to feel one's self patronized, made capital of, enrolled in a claque?
The Simple Life|Charles Wagner
At the end of the performance he sent for the leader of the claque and rated him soundly.
Artists' Wives|Alphonse Daudet
Wagner is known to have been absolutely opposed not only to the claque but to the most legitimate bursts of applause.
Old and New Paris, v. 2|Henry Sutherland Edwards

We were in tremendous spirits, and applauded quite as vigorously as the claque which occupied the row behind us.
Vagaries|Axel Munthe
Yet while one can understand the persistence of certain Parisian defects, the long life of the claque remains a mystery.
A Wanderer in Paris|E. V. Lucas

British Dictionary definitions for claque

claque

/ (klæk) /

noun

a group of people hired to applaud

a group of fawning admirers

Word Origin for claque

C19: from French, from claquer to clap, of imitative origin

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