clique

[kleek, klik]

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.

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

Can be confusedclaque cliqueclick clique

Synonym study

1. See circle, ring¹.

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

Related Words for clique

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

Examples from the Web for clique

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of clique

This clique is the most variously and most curiously composed.
Diary from November 12, 1862, to October 18, 1863
Adam Gurowski
The "clique" will take no less than a modest fortune, hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Against Odds
Lawrence L. Lynch
I wish to leave the clique for reasons of my own, and to do this I must have money.
Against Odds
Lawrence L. Lynch
It may be guessed that Haldimand was not a popular governor with the English clique.
Canada: the Empire of the North
Agnes C. Laut
Liquor was the only bond which held the clique together there.
When Life Was Young
C. A. Stephens

British Dictionary definitions for clique

clique

noun

a small, exclusive group of friends or associates

Derived Formscliquish, 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

Word Origin and History for clique

1711, "a party of persons; a small set, especially one associating for exclusivity," from obsolete French clique, originally (14c.) "a sharp noise," also "latch, bolt of a door," from Old French cliquer "click, clatter, crackle, clink," 13c., echoic. Apparently this word was at one time treated in French as the equivalent of claque (q.v.) and partook of that word's theatrical sense.