clique
Americannoun
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
The robber clique turns out to have its own bosses, too, as well as the most visible fractures in their unit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 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
In Los Angeles, she had a close-knit circle of friends called the "Kitties", according to Marquez, which was a clique of mostly female friends who liked to throw parties - attended by celebrities.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2025
They were outgoing and confident, and transcended every high school clique.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
In this milieu, Hollywood A-listers like Will Ferrell and Sharon Stone, who occupy separate cliques nearby, pale in comparison to the mingling artistic luminaries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
Several male chimps who had bridged cliques within the larger group died from disease, weakening social ties.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 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
Former captain Steven Gerrard's recent observation that they were simply "egotistical losers" also plays into the club cliques argument that has come to the fore since many retired as players.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2025
At lunchtime in the cafeteria, a new minefield: rows and rows of tables and chairs, cliques of friends, trays of weird food.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
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 Cooke, George Willis
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.
