Collins Dictionaries - Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary

classical

ADJECTIVE 1 traditional in style and content • classical ballet

2 Classical music is serious music thought to be of lasting value.

classify classifies, classifying, classified

VERB to arrange things into groups with something in common • We classified the foods into three groups: fruits, vegetables and meats.

classification NOUN

classroom classrooms

NOUN a room in a school where lessons take place

clatter clatters, clattering, clattered

VERB 1 When things clatter, they hit each other with a loud, rattling noise.

NOUN 2 a loud noise made by hard things hitting against each other • There was a great clatter when the waitress dropped the tray.

clause clauses

NOUN In grammar, a clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb, which may be a complete sentence or part of a sentence.

claw claws, clawing, clawed

NOUN 1 An animal’s claws are the hard, curved nails at the end of its feet.

2 The claws of a crab or a lobster are the two jointed parts at the end of the leg, used for holding things.

VERB 3 3 If an animal claws something, it digs its claws into it

clay

NOUN a type of earth that is soft and sticky when wet and hard when baked dry. It is used to make pottery and bricks.

clean cleaner, cleanest; cleans, cleaning, cleaned

ADJECTIVE 1 free from dirt or unwanted marks

VERB 2 to remove dirt from something

clear clearer, clearest; clears, clearing, cleared

ADJECTIVE 1 easy to understand, see or hear • The instructions on the packet were very clear.

2 easy to see through • a clear liquid

VERB 3 To clear unwanted things from a place is to remove them. • We cleared the dirty dishes from the table.

4 If you clear a fence or other obstacle, you jump over it without touching it.

clearly ADVERB

clear up

VERB When you clear up a place, you tidy it and put things away.

clench clenches, clenching, clenched

VERB 1 When you clench your fist, you curl your fingers up tightly.

2 When you clench your teeth, you squeeze them together tightly, either in pain or in anger.

clerk clerks

NOUN a person who keeps records or accounts in an office, bank or law court

clever cleverer, cleverest

ADJECTIVE 1 intelligent and quick to understand things

SYNONYMS: bright, intelligent, smart

2 very effective or skilful • We came up with a clever plan.

cliché clichés

NOUN an idea or phrase that is no longer effective because it has been used so much. For example, in this day and age and over the moon.

click clicks, clicking, clicked

VERB 1 When something clicks or when you click it, it makes a short snapping sound.

NOUN 2 a sound of something clicking

client clients

NOUN someone who pays a professional person or company for a service

cliff cliffs

NOUN a high area of land with a very steep side, usually next to the sea

cliffhanger cliffhangers

NOUN a very exciting or frightening situation, usually in a television or radio serial, where you are left not knowing what is going to happen next

climate climates

NOUN the general weather conditions that are typical of a place

climax climaxes

NOUN the most exciting moment of something, usually near the end

climb climbs, climbing, climbed

VERB 1 If you climb something, such as a tree, mountain or ladder, you move towards the top of it.

2 If you climb somewhere, you move there with difficulty. • We climbed over the high wall.

NOUN 3 a movement upwards • I was tired after the long climb to the top of the hill.

climber NOUN

cling clings, clinging, clung

VERB If you cling to something, you hold on to it tightly.

clinic clinics

NOUN a place where people go for medical advice or treatment

clip clips, clipping, clipped

NOUN 1 a small metal or plastic object used for holding things together

2 a short piece of a film shown by itself

VERB 3 If you clip something, you cut bits from it to shape it.

clipboard clipboards

NOUN a stiff piece of board or plastic, with a clip at the top to keep papers in place

clippers

PLURAL NOUN a tool used for cutting • hedge clippers

cloak cloaks, cloaking, cloaked

NOUN 1 a wide, loose coat without sleeves

VERB 2 If something cloaks something else, it covers or hides it. • The mist cloaked the land.

cloakroom cloakrooms

NOUN 1 a room where you can leave coats and luggage for a while

2 a room with toilets and washbasins in a public building

clock clocks

NOUN an instrument that measures and shows the time

clockwise

ADVERB in the same direction as the hands on a clock

clockwork

NOUN 1 Toys that move by clockwork are wound up with a key.

PHRASE 2 If something goes like clockwork, it happens with no problems or delays.

clog clogs, clogging, clogged

VERB 1 When something is clogged, or when you clog something up, it becomes blocked and doesn’t work properly or doesn’t allow things to move freely. • The traffic was clogging the roads.

NOUN 2 a shoe made entirely of wood, originally from the Netherlands

clone clones

NOUN an animal or plant that is an identical copy of another animal or plant

close closes, closing, closed; closer, closest

Said “klohz” VERB 1 If you close something, you move it so that it is no longer open. • He closed the door behind him.

2 If a shop or other building closes at a certain time, it does not do business after that time.

Said “klohss” ADJECTIVE 3 Something that is close to something else is near to it.

SYNONYMS: near, nearby

4 People who are close are very friendly with each other and know each other well.

5 If the weather is close, it is uncomfortably warm and stuffy.

NOUN 6 a street that is closed at one end • We live in Park Close.

closely ADVERB

close-up close-ups

Said “klohss-up” NOUN A close-up in a film or a photograph is taken at very close range and shows things in great detail.

cloth cloths

NOUN 1 fabric made by a process such as weaving

2 a piece of material used for wiping or protecting things

clothes

PLURAL NOUN things people wear on their bodies

cloud clouds

NOUN 1 a mass of water vapour that is seen as a white or grey patch in the sky

2 A cloud of smoke or dust is a mass of it floating in the air.

cloudy cloudier, cloudiest

ADJECTIVE 1 full of clouds • The sky was cloudy.

SYNONYMS: dull, overcast

2 difficult to see through • a cloudy liquid

SYNONYM: murky

clover

NOUN a small plant with leaves made up of three similar parts

clown clowns

NOUN a circus performer who wears funny clothes and make-up and does silly things to make people laugh

club clubs

NOUN 1 a group of people with similar interests, who meet regularly. The place where they meet is also called a club. • a youth club

2 a team that competes in sports competitions

clue clues

NOUN something that helps solve a problem or mystery • Police have found clues to the robbery.

clueless

ADJECTIVE INFORMAL If you say that someone is clueless, you think they are stupid and not able to do things properly.

clump clumps

NOUN a small group of things growing or standing close together • a clump of trees

clumsy clumsier, clumsiest

ADJECTIVE moving awkwardly and carelessly

SYNONYMS: awkward, ungainly

clumsily ADVERB

clung

VERB the past tense and past participle of cling

cluster clusters, clustering, clustered

NOUN 1 a group of things together • There is a cluster of houses by the lake.

VERB 2 If people cluster together, they stay together in a close group.