clue

[ kloo ]

/ klu /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR clue ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

anything that serves to guide or direct in the solution of a problem, mystery, etc.

clew(defs 1–4, 6, 12).

verb (used with object), clued, clu·ing.

to direct or point out by a clue.

clew(def 7).

Verb Phrases

clue in,

to provide with useful or reliable information: Clue us in on how these forms are to be filled out.
to make familiar or aware: Has she been clued in about the rules of this office?

Nearby words

clubroom, clubroot, clubwoman, cluck, clucky, clue, clue in, clued-up, clueless, cluj, cluj-napoca

Origin of clue

variant spelling of clew

SYNONYMS FOR clue

1 sign, hint, trace, evidence, mark, key.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR clue ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for clue

A cynic might say that the report is like the movie Clue, perfectly set up for a multiplicity of endings.
New York’s Conservative Fracking Ban|Jay Michaelson|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The worship that holds you for a few hours a week becomes, then, the clue to that deep truth inside.
Joseph Campbell on the Roots of Halloween|Joseph Campbell|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Martin was up on some of the more difficult passages, but managed to guess the wrong character from the clue of “Hodor!”
Amy Poehler and George R.R. Martin Play Game of ‘Game of Thrones’|Alex Chancey|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dusty books, smoking pipes, tarot cards, and a Ouija board fill the antique furniture positioning any object as a clue.
Escape the Room—New York's Hottest Game|Justin Jones|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The complete and utter lack of compassion or a clue exhibited by these people is shameful in the extreme.
The Psychology of Sex Slave Rings|Charlotte Lytton|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These last furnished the clue to the behaviour of the crows.
Birds of the Plains|Douglas Dewar
After a frantic effort, I caught two words—‘Land,’ ‘America’—with positively no clue to their meaning.
True Ghost Stories|Hereward Carrington
Not until after the ceremony did I find the clue to the riddle.
Abb Aubain and Mosaics|Prosper Mrime
Would he think me very deceitful, I wondered, for giving Max that clue?
Uncle Max|Rosa Nouchette Carey
The colors thus frequently give a clue to the age of pieces.
The Ceramic Art|Jennie J. Young

British Dictionary definitions for clue

clue

/ (kluː) /

noun

something that helps to solve a problem or unravel a mystery

not to have a clue

to be completely baffled
to be completely ignorant or incompetent

verb clues, cluing or clued

(tr; usually foll by in or up) to provide with helpful information

noun, verb

a variant spelling of clew

Word Origin for clue

C15: variant of clew

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

Word Origin and History for clue (1 of 2)

clue

1590s, spelling variant of clew "a ball of thread or yarn," in this sense with reference to the one Theseus used as a guide out of the Labyrinth. The purely figurative sense of "that which points the way" is from 1620s. As something which a bewildered person does not have, by 1948.

Word Origin and History for clue (1 of 2)

clue

"to inform someone of the important facts," usually with in, 1934, from clue (n.). Related: Clued; cluing. Earlier in now-obsolete sense of "follow or track by clues" (1660s). In nautical use, "to haul up (a sail) by means of the clue-lines," from clue (n.) in the "wound ball of yarn" sense.

clue

noun

verb (used with object), clued, clu·ing.

Verb Phrases

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of clue

Examples from the Web for clue

British Dictionary definitions for clue

clue

noun

verb clues, cluing or clued

noun, verb

Word Origin for clue

Word Origin and History for clue (1 of 2)

clue

Word Origin and History for clue (1 of 2)

clue