Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Maclean

British  
/ məˈkleɪn /

noun

  1. Donald. 1913–83, British civil servant, who spied for the Russians: fled to the former Soviet Union (with Guy Burgess) in 1951

  2. Sorley (ˈsɔːlɪ). 1911–96, Scottish Gaelic poet. His works include Dàin do Eimhir agus Dàin Eile (1943) and Spring Tide and Neap Tide (1977)

"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

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:

Norman Maclean spent the final years of his life trying to understand one terrible afternoon in 1949.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 21, 2026

John Maclean, from the UK Meteor Network, said the meteor was not connected to any astronomical event, and likely stemmed from a larger asteroid.

From BBC Apr. 13, 2026

“Jesus’ Son” was a good example—director Alison Maclean was reverent, but slightly baffled.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 20, 2025

Wahlberg spoke to Edinburgh's Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan Maclean in a video call, 54 days into their venture.

From BBC Jun. 5, 2025

The "Cambridge Spy Ring"—which included Philby, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross—made sure that almost nothing that England or its allies did would be kept secret from the USSR.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training