claw
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A curved, pointed, horny projection on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
klawIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈklɔ
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
A curved, pointed, horny projection on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird.
A grasping structure on the limb of a crustacean or other arthropods
The pincer (chela) of a crustacean or other arthropod.
A foot equipped with such.
A mechanical device resembling a claw, used for gripping or lifting.
Sharp curved horny process on the toe of a bird or some mammals or reptiles
verb
To scratch or to tear at.
To move with one's fingertips.
Scratch, scrape, pull, or dig with claws or nails
Attack as if with claws
To use the claws to seize, to grip.
To use the claws to climb.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A curved, pointed, horny projection on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird.
Used this way, claw is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use claw
- “They clawed their way to the top of the mountain.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A hammer with a cleft at one end for pulling nails.
A hatchet that has a cleft for pulling nails.
Erect shrub with small if any spines having racemes of white to yellow flowers followed by curved pointed pods and black shiny seeds.
A tongueless frog native to Africa.
Annual of southern United States to Mexico having large whitish or yellowish flowers mottled with purple and a long curving beak.
Annual of southern United States to Mexico having large whitish or yellowish flowers mottled with purple and a long curving beak.
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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.