clause
noun
Simple meaning
A group of words that contains a subject and a verb.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
klawzIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈklɔz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
grammar
A group of words that contains a subject and a verb; it may be part of a sentence or may constitute the whole sentence, depending on the syntax in each instance.
grammar
A verb along with its subject and their modifiers. If a clause provides a complete thought on its own, then it is an independent (superordinate) clause; otherwise, it is dependent (subordinate). (Independent clauses can be sentences; they can also be part of a sentence. Dependent clauses can only be part of a sentence.)
grammar
A verb, its necessary grammatical arguments, and any adjuncts affecting them.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A group of words that contains a subject and a verb; it may be part of a sentence or may constitute the whole sentence, depending on the syntax in each instance.
Used this way, clause is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a grammar or language-study use: it describes how language works, so it appears in teaching and reference writing.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use clause
- “The contract had a special clause about late payments and penalties.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Verb / expression
Other combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A clause in a complex sentence that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and that functions within the sentence as a noun or adjective or adverb.
A subordinate clause that does not limit or restrict the meaning of the noun phrase it modifies.
A provision in a law that confers on appropriate officials the power to implement or enforce the law.
A clause in a contract that provides for an increase or a decrease in wages or prices or benefits etc. depending on certain conditions (as a change in the cost of living index).
An exemption based on circumstances existing prior to the adoption of some policy.
A clause in a complex sentence that can stand alone as a complete sentence.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- phrasenoun
- conditionaladjective
- sentencenoun
- predicateverb
- verbnoun
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.