clerical
Americanadjective
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of, pertaining to, appropriate for, or assigned to an office clerk or clerks.
a clerical job.
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doing the work of a clerk or clerks.
a clerical assistant;
a clerical staff.
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of, relating to, or characteristic of the clergy or a member of the clergy.
clerical garb.
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advocating the power or influence of the clergy in politics, government, etc..
a clerical party.
noun
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a cleric.
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Informal. clericals, clerical garments.
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a person or a party advocating the power or influence of the church in politics, government, etc.
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a person who does clerical work; office worker; clerk.
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Also called clerical error. a minor error, as in the keeping of records, the transcribing of documents, or the handling of correspondence.
adjective
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relating to or associated with the clergy
clerical dress
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of or relating to office clerks or their work
a clerical error
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supporting or advocating clericalism
Other Word Forms
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clericalitynoun
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clericallyadverb
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interclericaladjective
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nonclericaladjective
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nonclericallyadverb
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preclericaladjective
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proclericaladjective
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pseudoclericaladjective
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pseudoclericallyadverb
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quasi-clericaladjective
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quasi-clericallyadverb
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semiclericaladjective
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semiclericallyadverb
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unclericaladjective
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unclericallyadverb
Etymology
Origin of clerical
1425–75 for sense “learned”; 1585–95 clerical for def. 3; late Middle English < Late Latin clēricālis, equivalent to clēric ( us ) cleric + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
Anything related to office work is called clerical, especially the more menial and boring jobs such as filing and administration. You might say "The Office" is a clerical comedy. In older times clerical had an additional common meaning of referring to anything to do with the clergy — those ordained for religious work, usually in the Christian faith. Clerical comes from the old Latin term clericus, meaning a "churchman," from which cleric later came, meaning a priest or religious leader. To have "a clerical air" means to be clearly identifiable either as an ink-stained office wretch or a member of the cloth.
Vocabulary lists containing clerical
The Hate U Give
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Kindred
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Demand for switchboard operators brought hundreds of thousands of women into corporate offices, reshaping the clerical workforce.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
Elsewhere, a mural traces a line of clerical leadership in Iran.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
Whether the tweet was a confession or a clerical error, travel experts say the advice on how to avoid surprise price jumps is a relic of a simpler internet.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 20, 2026
In February, Canada's top court nullified the result over a clerical error involving a postal ballot by the federal election agency, Elections Canada.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
When all seemed lost, Handsome Harold entered with his pink face and his clerical garb.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
