club
Americannoun
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clubs
plural
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a heavy stick, usually thicker at one end than at the other, suitable for use as a weapon; a cudgel.
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a group of persons organized for a social, literary, athletic, political, or other purpose.
They organized a computer club.
- Synonyms:
- society, association
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the building or rooms occupied by such a group.
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an organization that offers its subscribers certain benefits, as discounts, bonuses, or interest, in return for regular purchases or payments.
a book club; a record club; a Christmas club.
- Synonyms:
- society, association
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Sports.
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a stick or bat used to drive a ball in various games, as golf.
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a nightclub, especially one in which people dance to popular music, drink, and socialize.
Last night we went to all the clubs in town.
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a black trefoil-shaped figure on a playing card.
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a card bearing such figures.
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(used with a singular or plural verb) clubs, the suit so marked.
Clubs is trump. Clubs are trump.
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Nautical.
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a short spar attached to the end of a gaff to allow the clew of a gaff topsail to extend beyond the peak of the gaff.
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a short spar attached to the truck of a mast to support the upper part of a club topsail.
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verb (used with object)
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clubs,
present (3rd person singular)
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clubbed,
past participle, past
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clubbing
present participle
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to beat with or as with a club.
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to gather or form into a clublike mass.
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to unite; combine; join together.
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to contribute as one's share toward a joint expense; make up by joint contribution (often followed by up ortogether ).
They clubbed their dollars together to buy the expensive present.
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to defray by proportional shares.
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to hold (a rifle, shotgun, etc.) by the barrel, so as to use the stock as a club.
verb (used without object)
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clubs,
present (3rd person singular)
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clubbed,
past participle, past
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clubbing
present participle
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Informal. to go to nightclubs, especially to dance, drink, and socialize.
The students at that university go clubbing every Friday night.
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to combine or join together, as for a common purpose.
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to attend a club or a club's activities.
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to gather into a mass.
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to contribute to a common fund.
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Nautical. to drift in a current with an anchor, usually rigged with a spring, dragging or dangling to reduce speed.
adjective
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of or relating to a club.
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consisting of a combination of foods offered at the price set on the menu.
They allow no substitutions on the club luncheon.
noun
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a stout stick, usually with one end thicker than the other, esp one used as a weapon
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a stick or bat used to strike the ball in various sports, esp golf See golf club
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short for Indian club
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a group or association of people with common aims or interests
a wine club
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the room, building, or facilities used by such a group
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( in combination )
clubhouse
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a building in which elected, fee-paying members go to meet, dine, read, etc
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a commercial establishment in which people can drink and dance; disco See also nightclub
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an organization, esp in a shop, set up as a means of saving
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an informal word for friendly society
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the black trefoil symbol on a playing card
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a card with one or more of these symbols or ( when pl ) the suit of cards so marked
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nautical
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a spar used for extending the clew of a gaff topsail beyond the peak of the gaff
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short for club foot
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slang pregnant
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slang away from work due to sickness, esp when receiving sickness benefit
verb
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(tr) to beat with or as if with a club
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(often foll by together) to gather or become gathered into a group
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(often foll by together) to unite or combine (resources, efforts, etc) for a common purpose
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(tr) to use (a rifle or similar firearm) as a weapon by holding the barrel and hitting with the butt
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(intr) nautical to drift in a current, reducing speed by dragging anchor
Synonym Usage
See circle.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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clubsimple
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clubssimple
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have clubbedperfect
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has clubbedperfect
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am clubbingprogressive
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are clubbingprogressive
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is clubbingprogressive
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have been clubbingperfect progressive
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has been clubbingperfect progressive
Past
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clubbedsimple
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had clubbedperfect
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was clubbingprogressive
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were clubbingprogressive
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had been clubbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of club
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English clubbe, from Old Norse klubba; akin to clump
Explanation
A club is a group of people who share an interest, whether it's playing chess or hiding out in a tree house together. You might join a club if you love to play golf or discuss books with a friendly bunch of people. This kind of club is a formal group — another type is simply a big, heavy stick, or a long metal one used for hitting a golf ball. You can even use it as a verb: "Don't club that snake! Just move it over to the field." The root word is the Old Norse klubba, or "cudgel, club."
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:
As a protective measure, the members tried to alter the club’s bylaws to raise the voting percentage required to approve a sale of the club, some members said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Most communities you buy a home, you become a member of the club, and this community doesn’t fall in line with that,” said Dina Goldentayer, a real-estate agent who has sold homes on the island.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Six months later, Bezos still hasn’t received an invitation to join the club.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Owning a property on the island doesn’t guarantee admission to the country club.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
“You’ll find Judge Quinzy at Lord Fredrick’s club, I know it for a fact. The gentlemen had plans to meet for lunch and a game of billiards.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
As with many private country clubs, admission often comes down to hitting it off with existing members.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Investors have shown increasing interest in professional soccer teams in recent years as top clubs boost commercial revenues and work to capitalize on the sport’s growing global appeal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Twenty years after the door was opened for gambling companies to put their logos on the front of jerseys, it has been closed after clubs voluntarily voted to ban them.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
"This resulted in the proliferation of deals, nearly always with the 'other 14' clubs - Clubs who operate at much lower commercial fee levels than the global football brands," Maguire said.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Sometimes I sit with people after clubs while they wait for their parents to pick them up in their own cars.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Philadelphia’s Trea Turner and Alex Bohm each clubbed singles in the fourth inning, but little came to fruition.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
She clubbed Charlie Dean for back-to-back sixes as England's captain was hit out of the attack by conceding 14 runs from her sole over.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
Tibbs clubbed 28 home runs in his junior year at Florida State, powering the Seminoles to their first College World Series trip since 2019.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
The 1970s oil shock and stagflation clubbed the economy when she was a teen, and high interest rates thwarted home buyers in the 1980s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
At last he found him, still clutching the Cup and wearing an expression appropriate to having been clubbed over the head.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
It’s such a primal feeling to go clubbing, to all come together and dance to a beat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
After a period of adjustment before seeing the chair as freedom, Bethany was able to go clubbing in her final year of university and get out into the parks of Cardiff.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
Zakharova is only just inside the world's top 100 but had won three matches to get to this stage and was clubbing the ball powerfully from the baseline.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
Possible targets include rheumatoid arthritis, anemia and finger clubbing.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 4, 2026
Lately Sam had been showing up to my competitions late, if at all, and dressed like he was going out clubbing in Harlem in the 1920s.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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.
