clique
[ kleek, klik ]
/ klik, klɪk /
noun
a small, exclusive group of people; coterie; set.
verb (used without object), cliqued, cli·quing.
Informal.
to form, or associate in, a clique.
Origin of clique
1705–15; < French, apparently metaphorical use of Middle French
clique latch, or noun derivative of
cliquer to make noise, resound, imitative word parallel to
click1
OTHER WORDS FROM clique
clique·less, adjective cli·quey, cli·quy, adjective cli·quism, noun sub·clique, nounWords nearby clique
clippie,
clipping,
clipshears,
clipsheet,
clipt,
clique,
cliquey,
cliquish,
clishmaclaver,
clisis,
clisthenes
Example sentences from the Web for cliquey
People here are cliquey, and Carlotta and Peggy are the only girls in the crowd that I've ever known before.
Brenda's Ward |Helen Leah ReedI enjoyed the same sort of cliquey reputation and public failure attending a certain novel entitled Marius the Epicurean.
The Sorrows of Satan |Marie CorelliGodalming folks will tell you that Guildford is “cliquey,” by which term I understand exclusiveness to be meant.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries |Charles G. Harper
British Dictionary definitions for cliquey (1 of 2)
cliquey
cliquy
/ (ˈkliːkɪ, ˈklɪkɪ) /
adjective -ier or -iest
exclusive, confined to a small group; forming cliques
British Dictionary definitions for cliquey (2 of 2)
clique
/ (kliːk, klɪk) /
noun
a small, exclusive group of friends or associates
Derived forms of clique
cliquish, adjective cliquishly, adverb cliquishness, nounWord Origin for clique
C18: from French, perhaps from Old French: latch, from
cliquer to click; suggestive of the necessity to exclude nonmembers