clue
Americannoun
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anything that serves to guide or direct in the solution of a problem, mystery, etc..
It is up to Aurora to piece together the clues and solve the murder before she becomes the next victim.
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a phrase or word provided as a hint to help find an answer or response in a crossword puzzle, on a game show, etc..
The celebrity editor's name was featured as a clue on the long-running quiz show.
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an insight into or knowledge about something.
As a kid from the suburbs, Patrick has lived a sheltered life and doesn't have a clue how to survive on his own.
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clew.
verb (used with object)
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to direct or point out by a clue.
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to help find (an answer in a puzzle or quiz) by providing a clue.
The four-letter “nose” was clued as “characteristic smell of wine.”
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clew.
verb phrase
noun
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something that helps to solve a problem or unravel a mystery
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to be completely baffled
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to be completely ignorant or incompetent
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verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cluesimple
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cluessimple
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have cluedperfect
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has cluedperfect
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am cluingprogressive
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are cluingprogressive
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is cluingprogressive
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have been cluingperfect progressive
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has been cluingperfect progressive
Past
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cluedsimple
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had cluedperfect
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was cluingprogressive
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were cluingprogressive
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had been cluingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of clue
First recorded in 1350–1400; variant spelling of clew
Explanation
A clue is a piece of evidence that helps solve a problem, or it's a slight hint. When you’re in the dark about the surprise party your friends are planning, they'll say, “She doesn’t have a clue!” When you first join the police force, you’re mostly just walking the beat. But when you’re promoted to detective, your job is to look for that big clue that will help you solve the case. The original Middle English word was clew, which meant “a ball of thread.” If you were trapped in a labyrinth, you could follow the clew to help find your way out.
Vocabulary lists containing clue
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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"Mysteries of the Ancient Past"
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"The Clever Old Woman" and "Argument"
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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:
Tesla’s first-quarter earnings narrowly beat Wall Street’s expectations, and while it’s still unclear what the second quarter will look like, the company’s latest sales report provides a clue.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
But we’ve all been in that situation where you buy something specifically for a recipe and have no clue what to do with the leftovers.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
His arrival may also be the first clue that Alonso will play a back-three system at Stamford Bridge, having used it to great effect when leading Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title in 2024.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
The first clue about how unusually profitable the quarter has been is that analysts raised their earnings-per-share forecasts for the S&P 500 by 3.4% since the end of March, according to FactSet analyst John Butters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
She’d been muttering about a tough crossword clue.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
An adult brain weighs about 1.2-1.5kg, and its folds and major structures can reveal important clues before microscopic examination begins.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
She competed with other researchers for access to scarce tissue samples from human tumors and led a team analyzing them for clues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
"These objects provide the best clues for understanding how supermassive black holes form," said co-author Joseph Hennawi, a physics professor with joint appointments at UC Santa Barbara and Leiden University.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
She offered few clues to McConnell’s current status, instead defending her decision not to cut a June trip to China short.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
"My dad says that clues can lead to other clues," Nancy said.
From "Sleepover Sleuths: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #1" by Carolyn Keene
How could the clueless become clued if their peers weren’t picking on their every lame move?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
But now they are now clued in to their fortuitous timing.
From Barron's ● Apr. 1, 2026
I skipped the steps of the application process that would have clued the agency in on my lack of fitness for the position.
From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026
I think I’m pretty clued into my birds.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2025
The angle of the sun clued me in that I should be seeing two small figures anytime now.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Anyone can check it out, but it’s geared toward cluing in ranchers in an effort to prevent wolf-livestock conflict.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2025
Some still maintain that the Knicks’ envelope was frozen or had a bent corner, cluing in NBA Commissioner and native New Yorker David Stern as to which envelope to choose.
From Washington Times ● May 9, 2023
Not long after, there’s Jim Carroll’s rocking, doom-soaked “People Who Died,” cluing viewers in to the fact that a whole bunch of these people aren’t long for the picture.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2021
Dolores, cluing in the hosts to their own exploitation and lack of freedom, is both avatar of revenge and leader of the class struggle.
From New York Times ● Mar. 12, 2020
Without cluing in Byrd or even Ray, Axel starts back up the driveway.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
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.
