clique
Americannoun
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cliques
plural
verb (used without object)
noun
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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cliquishnessnoun
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cliquismnoun
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subcliquenoun
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cliquelessadjective
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cliqueyadjective
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cliquishadjective
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cliquyadjective
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cliquishlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
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 click 1
Explanation
A clique is an exclusive group of people or friends. Before Rudolph pulled Santa's sled through the fog, the clique of flying reindeer never let him play their reindeer games. In high school, the exclusive nature of cliques causes a lot of hurt feelings. Clique carries this less than nice feeling with it wherever it goes, whether it be a set of elites who surround a government official, a group of popular kids who don't let others join their group or the closed circle of people at the office who always make sure they get the best jobs.
Vocabulary lists containing clique
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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The Catcher in the Rye
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Bronx Masquerade
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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.
See Examples For:
“It makes it difficult to simply turn over the regime, because the regime is not just an individual, not just a clique of military officers,” Ostovar said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
Our clique comes storming down the mall food court in that classic slow-motion strut, letting us know right away what we’re in for.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
But the standout character is "queen bee" Regina, head of the Plastics clique and the meanest of the mean girls.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
Miller was popular in the sense that she was part of a clique and had social status, but her former classmates said that popularity shouldn’t be confused with being well liked.
From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2025
Perhaps he was tired of the struggle, tired of the Orkney clique and the strange new fashions and the difficulties of love and modem justice.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
But he brings out the idiosyncratic joys of the Mets roster—even its counterrevolutionary cliques.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Most didn’t stay in one place for long but instead formed temporary cliques based on the games they played.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026
Sir Mark also said: "Much more needed to be done to tackle the individuals and cliques whose appalling behaviour continues to let down their colleagues and Londoners".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
“Unlike high school cliques, in the political world, you didn’t have to be pretty, athletic, funny, or cool,” Stout recounted in her Substack.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2025
He was surprised to find the report put to use by opposing cliques as evidence that the fair could not possibly be placed in Jackson Park.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
So the thing about Elon Musk is that he’s cliqued up — specifically with the so-called PayPal Mafia.
From The Verge ● Sep. 1, 2022
The Frenchmen are cliqued against him, for Vieuxtemps has arrived, and they mean to maintain his superiority.
From Early Letters of George Wm. Curtis by George Willis Cooke
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.
