clue
Americannoun
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clues
plural
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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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clues,
present (3rd person singular)
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clued,
past participle, past
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cluing
present participle
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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:
And what could now prove a big clue to his Arsenal future - he started the quarter-final against Norway at right back.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
One particularly revealing clue comes from particles that escape with less energy than expected.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
"However, it may be a clue to tell us that something is going on."
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
The nature of the killings gave a clue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
“I have been sitting here for nearly an hour, asking Edward for a clue, a hint, a sign,” the Widow Ashton declared.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Investors often look to that line for clues about whether the market’s uptrend is holding.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
But there were clues at the time that his outrageous stage act did not stop when the show ended - most publicly in his 2007 bestselling memoir, My Booky Wook.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Such evidence could provide valuable clues about the behavior of gravity under some of the most extreme conditions in the universe.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2026
And then I’m going to give you the clues to understand how I got there, so that you can follow along with me.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
When Kyle and his teammates had played the escape game, one of their biggest clues came from writing down the first letters of all the books printed on the backs of their library cards.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
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
No one clued in Dale about this, or anybody else, for that matter.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 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
An American tourist called Dorothy said she wasn't worried about visiting Angkor as she was clued in to travel logistics and border rules, saying she felt "very safe".
From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025
It wasn’t until I grabbed the handle and shook the door that he finally clued in.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
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
“I am also a man of two minds,” he continues, cluing us in to the truth that every immigrant sometimes feels like a double agent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
