: a narrow exclusive circle or group of persons
especially
: one held together by common interests, views, or purposes
high school cliques
Synonyms
Examples of clique in a Sentence
that clique refuses to even talk to outsiders at their lunch table
Recent Examples on the Web
The sun was setting, leaving a band of neon orange clinging to the horizon; around us, raffish cliques sipped esoteric cocktails, shared platters of roast chicken, flitted between languages, and seemed, to my eyes, immune to worldly stress.
—
David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2024
Mendoza didn’t think of the symbol as signifying a gang, a clique or even a problem.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2024
The Obama-Biden clique’s approach to American statecraft plainly prefers granting inducements to Iran that benefit its terror apparatus abroad, while shrugging off any oversight at home and tarring the critics as warmongers.
—The Editors, National Review, 13 May 2024
But readers should know that these two vocal cliques do not speak for the entire industry.
—The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
The son of a Chinese father and a white Jewish mother, Leong had struggled in middle school with his identity, feeling on the outside of popular social cliques.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024
Much of the New York literary clique followed Mankiewicz to California when the industry shifted from silents to sound and filmmakers suddenly needed to hand their beautiful faces brilliant things to say.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
His sidelining demonstrates the extent to which Khamenei and his clique have tightened their grip on the reins of power and further dispensed with the trappings of democracy for which the regime often congratulates itself.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024
Many of those members returned to the United States, often illegally, and re-joined MS-13 cliques that had expanded to dozens of states including New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, Texas, California and Nevada, according to the indictment.
—Cnn, The Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2024
David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2024
Mendoza didn’t think of the symbol as signifying a gang, a clique or even a problem.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2024
The Obama-Biden clique’s approach to American statecraft plainly prefers granting inducements to Iran that benefit its terror apparatus abroad, while shrugging off any oversight at home and tarring the critics as warmongers.
—The Editors, National Review, 13 May 2024
But readers should know that these two vocal cliques do not speak for the entire industry.
—The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
The son of a Chinese father and a white Jewish mother, Leong had struggled in middle school with his identity, feeling on the outside of popular social cliques.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024
Much of the New York literary clique followed Mankiewicz to California when the industry shifted from silents to sound and filmmakers suddenly needed to hand their beautiful faces brilliant things to say.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
His sidelining demonstrates the extent to which Khamenei and his clique have tightened their grip on the reins of power and further dispensed with the trappings of democracy for which the regime often congratulates itself.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024
Many of those members returned to the United States, often illegally, and re-joined MS-13 cliques that had expanded to dozens of states including New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, Texas, California and Nevada, according to the indictment.
—Cnn, The Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clique.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near clique
Cite this Entry
“Clique.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clique. Accessed 20 May. 2024.
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