clique

[ kleek, klik ]
/ klik, klɪk /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR clique ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small, exclusive group of people; coterie; set.

verb (used without object), cliqued, cli·quing.

Informal. to form, or associate in, a clique.

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Origin of clique

1705–15; <French, apparently metaphorical use of Middle French clique latch, or noun derivative of cliquer to make noise, resound, imitative word parallel to click1

synonym study for clique

1. See circle, ring1.

OTHER WORDS FROM clique

cliqueless, adjectivecliquey, cliquy, adjectivecliquism, nounsubclique, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH clique

1. claque, clique ; 2. click, clique .

Words nearby clique

clipping, clipshears, clipsheet, clip someone's wings, clipt, clique, cliquey, cliquish, clishmaclaver, clisis, Clisthenes
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to clique

clan, cabal, coterie, faction, posse, gang, mob, lobby, set, crowd, club, camp, outfit, crew, crush, society, bunch, organization, circle, ring

Example sentences from the Web for clique

British Dictionary definitions for clique

clique
/ (kliːk, klɪk) /

noun

a small, exclusive group of friends or associates

Derived forms of clique

cliquish, adjectivecliquishly, adverbcliquishness, noun

Word Origin for clique

C18: from French, perhaps from Old French: latch, from cliquer to click; suggestive of the necessity to exclude nonmembers
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