clay

[ kley ]

/ kleɪ /

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noun

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.

verb (used with object)

to treat or mix with clay; cover, daub, or fill with clay.

to filter through clay.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of clay

First recorded before 1000; Middle English clei, cleigh, Old English clǣg, cognate with Dutch klei, German Klei, akin to glue

OTHER WORDS FROM clay

clay·like, adjectiveun·clayed, adjective

Words nearby clay

claw hatchet, claw off, claw setting, Clawson, claxon, clay, claybank, Clayborn, clay-colored robin, clay-colored sparrow, clay court

Other definitions for clay (2 of 2)

Clay

[ kley ]

/ kleɪ /

noun

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. 2023

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|Nautilus
The 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|ProPublica
The water was yellowish, thick, full of clay, stinking of oil and sewage.
51 Years Later, the Cuyahoga River Burns Again|Wes Siler|August 28, 2020|Outside Online
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 Hub

He 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.
Election Day Is Scarier Than Halloween|P. J. O’Rourke|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Clay engineered the morally indefensible Missouri Compromise.
Election Day Is Scarier Than Halloween|P. J. O’Rourke|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From the 1820s to the 1850s, the upper house was dominated by Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John Calhoun.
Election Day Is Scarier Than Halloween|P. J. O’Rourke|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It just changed into something quite dark and unattractive with Clay, and was a unique moment in my artistic career.
Ron Perlman's Secret Suicide Attempt|William O’Connor|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Horace was athletic and clever, known, probably apocryphally, as the fastest cotton picker in Clay County.
Those Kansas City Blues: A Family History|Katie Baker|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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 Munsell
Only 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 Showell
It 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)

clay

/ (kleɪ) /

noun

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, etcRelated adjective: figuline

earth or mud in general

poetic the material of the human body

verb

(tr) to cover or mix with clay

Derived forms of clay

clayey, clayish or claylike, adjective

Word Origin for clay

Old English clǣg; related to Old High German klīa, Norwegian kli, Latin glūs glue, Greek gloios sticky oil

British Dictionary definitions for clay (2 of 2)

Clay

/ (kleɪ) /

noun

CassiusSee 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

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.

Other Idioms and Phrases with clay

clay

In addition to the idiom beginning with clay

clay pigeon

also see:

feet of clay

clay

Origin of clay

OTHER WORDS FROM clay

Words nearby clay

Other definitions for clay (2 of 2)

Words related to clay

How to use clay in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for clay (1 of 2)

Derived forms of clay

Word Origin for clay

British Dictionary definitions for clay (2 of 2)

Scientific definitions for clay

Other Idioms and Phrases with clay