clique

[ kleek, klik ]

/ klik, klɪk /

SEE MORE 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.

Nearby words

clippie, clipping, clipshears, clipsheet, clipt, clique, cliquey, cliquish, clishmaclaver, clisis, clisthenes

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

Related forms

clique·less, adjectivecli·quey, cli·quy, adjectivecli·quism, nounsub·clique, noun

Can be confused

claque cliqueclick clique

Synonym study

1. See circle, ring¹.

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

Examples from the Web for clique

How ironic that the Hermit Kingdom is taking the blame for our first real look inside a clique that not even Vice dares penetrate.
Pyongyang Shuffle: Hollywood In Dead Panic Over Sony Hack|James Poulos|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A clique of GOP lawmakers say the debt ceiling crisis is a hoax.
The GOP’s Top 10 Debt Ceiling Denialists|Patricia Murphy|October 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
How about the totally Beltwayized and out of touch with America clique versus the people who retain some remnants of common sense?
Paul Ryan Is a Great Choice|Michael Tomasky|August 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Not surprisingly, their clique is designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and other organizations.
Family of Hate|John Avlon|July 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST

So keeping with the high school metaphor, what clique would you roll with?
Jay McCarroll's Next 11 Minutes|Alisa Gould-Simon|February 20, 2009|DAILY BEAST
An election is merely a personal quarrel in the clique of men who control the Democratic party.
Following the Color Line|Ray Stannard Baker
He'd not have to be like them; he'd not mix with that clique; he'd herd alone.
Winner Take All|Larry Evans
It is of the clique who insist on shutting the windows that I write.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 103, October 1, 1892|Various
Probably he thought that the poet was a member of a London clique.
Alfred Tennyson|Andrew Lang
Partly out of that clique, partly out of a circle beyond it, which Savarin can more or less influence, I select ten.
The Parisians, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for clique

clique

/ (kliːk, klɪk) /

noun

a small, exclusive group of friends or associates

Derived Forms

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