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.

Words nearby clique

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

OTHER WORDS FROM clique

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH clique

claque cliqueclick clique

synonym study for clique

1. See circle, ring¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

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 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

clique

noun

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

Words related to clique

Words nearby clique

Origin of clique

OTHER WORDS FROM clique

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH clique

synonym study for clique

Examples from the Web for clique

British Dictionary definitions for clique

noun

Derived forms of clique

Word Origin for clique