cluck

[ kluhk ]

/ klʌk /

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See synonyms for cluck on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to utter the cry of a hen brooding or calling her chicks.

to make a similar sound; express concern, approval, etc., by such a sound.

verb (used with object)

to call or utter by clucking.

noun

the sound uttered by a hen when brooding, or in calling her chicks.

any clucking sound.

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Origin of cluck

1475–85; variant of clock¹ (now dial. and Scot), Middle English clokken,Old English cloccian to cluck; cognate with Dutch klokken

Words nearby cluck

club soda, club sofa, club steak, club wheat, clubwoman, cluck, clucky, clue, clued-up, clue in, clueless

Other definitions for cluck (2 of 2)

cluck²

[ kluhk ]

/ klʌk /

noun Slang.

a dull-witted, stupid person; blockhead; dolt.

Origin of cluck

1900–05, Americanism; special use of cluck¹

How to use cluck in a sentence

With the pandemic raging, an encounter that days earlier might have ended in a friendly apology or a cluck of sympathy quickly turned ugly.
'I Want This Over.' For Victims and the Accused, Justice Is Delayed as COVID-19 Snarls Courts|Melissa Chan|February 22, 2021|Time
Secondly, readers should not cluck their satisfaction so blithely over economic sanctions.
Les Gelb Puts Russia in Its Place—and Critics in Theirs|Leslie H. Gelb|April 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Moo Cluck Moo empire consists of two small outlets with about two-dozen employees.
No, a $15-Hour Fast Food Wage Isn’t Crazy|Daniel Gross|December 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In September, Moo Cluck Moo raised wages to the unthinkable level of $15 an hour.
No, a $15-Hour Fast Food Wage Isn’t Crazy|Daniel Gross|December 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST

By this time next year, Moo Cluck Moo hopes to have about a half-dozen units in the Detroit area.
No, a $15-Hour Fast Food Wage Isn’t Crazy|Daniel Gross|December 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Moo Cluck Moo, which has been in business for less than a year, has a single restaurant.
Radical Fast Food Joint Doubles Down on High Wages|Daniel Gross|September 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Out of the darkening sky rang the twanging call of a night-hawk, and the cluck of a dozing hen sounded from the foliage overhead.
The Soldier of the Valley|Nelson Lloyd
Ten minutes afterwards we heard the newly wakened hens begin to cluck.
The Animal Story Book|Various
Mother Bantam would cluck and run back and forth in the coop and call to them, she was so afraid something would happen.
Dew Drops, Vol. 37, No. 15, April 12, 1914|Various
Animals followed, and the Givers of life said "Speak our names," but the animals could only cluck and croak.
Myth, Ritual, and Religion, Vol. 1|Andrew Lang
Pretty soon he heard something going "cluck-cluck" in the bushes, and he knew that it was the mamma hen.
Uncle Wiggily's Travels|Howard R. Garis

British Dictionary definitions for cluck

cluck

/ (klʌk) /

noun

the low clicking sound made by a hen or any similar sound

verb

(intr) (of a hen) to make a clicking sound

(tr) to call or express (a feeling) by making a similar sound

Word Origin for cluck

C17: of imitative origin

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

cluck

Origin of cluck

Words nearby cluck

Other definitions for cluck (2 of 2)

Origin of cluck

Words related to cluck

How to use cluck in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cluck

Word Origin for cluck