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
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The Catcher in the Rye
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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:
The “Mormon Wives,” a group of women associated with the social media clique known as #MomTok, never neatly fit the internet’s definition of tradwives, either.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
Set in a Dallas shopping mall, “Forbidden Fruits” revolves around an elite clique of retail employees who run a witches’ coven out of the basement of their boho boutique Free Eden.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 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
So they focus on the people, who are quite the colorful clique of keglers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
Even my prettier older sister never seemed to have boyfriends, when all the other white girls in her clique did.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Multiple sources have previously told BBC Sport Chelsea have a dressing-room culture problem, specifically with cliques forming along language lines.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
But cliques within the bloc are emerging to push for change.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
A cooperating witness — whose name was withheld in court filings — testified that members from multiple cliques gathered in a parking area before walking up a dirt path in the dark.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
In the brutal terrain of female cliques, beauty remains a potent, if unreliable, weapon — one which Amos, her grin a glistening pink, wryly acknowledges and critiques.
From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2026
I stood in the front of the fine as always, because the back was for the girls who belonged to cliques, girls who giggled and whispered to one another, shielded from the teachers.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
