cling
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
to adhere closely; stick to.
The wet paper clings to the glass.
-
to hold tight, as by grasping or embracing; cleave.
The children clung to each other in the dark.
-
to be or remain close.
The child clung to her mother's side.
-
to remain attached, as to an idea, hope, memory, etc..
Despite the predictions, the candidate clung to the belief that he would be elected.
-
to cohere.
noun
noun
verb
-
(often foll by to) to hold fast or adhere closely (to something), as by gripping or sticking
-
(foll by together) to remain in contact (with each other)
-
to be or remain physically or emotionally close
to cling to outmoded beliefs
noun
-
agriculture the tendency of cotton fibres in a sample to stick to each other
-
obsolete agriculture diarrhoea or scouring in animals
-
short for clingstone
Other Word Forms
- clinger noun
- clinginess noun
- clinging adjective
- clingingly adverb
- clingingness noun
- clingy adjective
- unclinging adjective
Etymology
Origin of cling1
First recorded before 900; Middle English clingen, Old English clingan “to stick together, shrink, wither”; akin to clench
Origin of cling2
1835–45; by shortening from clingstone, or special use of cling 1 (noun)
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.
The sequence that results is at least as impressive as Tom Cruise clinging to the Burj Khalifa in the fourth “Mission: Impossible,” and considerably funnier.
The 76ers management countered with “We Owe You One”—a motto that clung to the team like body odor for the next five seasons.
It found four in 10 pharmacies in Wales were not profitable in 2025, which has left them "clinging on by their fingertips".
From BBC
I can’t cling to my people because my mother—my main person —is part of the terrible thing happening.
From Literature
But he clung dizzy and pale to even the lowest boughs.
From Literature
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.
