Definition of claque
1
: a group hired to applaud at a performance
2
: a group of sycophants
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claque was our Word of the Day on 01/08/2015. Hear the podcast!
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Recent Examples of claque from the Web
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The satirical elements, the aforementioned claques, are harder to stage.
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The people who run them make up a claque of international bagmen, shaking down whole countries and bankrupting cities as though the entire world was their goodie bag.
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The bill passed the House because the Freedom Caucus, that claque of unreconstructed extremists who hold the balance of power there, gave in a little.
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Groser and his staff had spent months researching Hillary Clinton, calculating who among her vast claque would win positions of power and influence in her administration.
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A Roomba modified by Craig Kalpakjian to carry a claque of live cockroaches around the room is equal parts sinister and hilarious.
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Those suspicions seem to be borne out when Cruz joined a claque of fellow conservatives to oppose the legislation.
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In his 14th season, James has become a principal in the debate between his fans and the Michael Jordan claque over who is the Greatest of All-Time.
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There’s a claque alongside to cheer the big boss and deride his doubters.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'claque.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
The word claque might call to mind the sound of a clap, and that's no accident. Claque is a French borrowing that descends from the verb claquer, meaning "to clap," and the noun claque, meaning "a clap." Those French words in turn originated in imitation of the sound associated with them. English speakers borrowed claque in the 19th century. At that time, the practice of infiltrating audiences with hired members was very common to French theater culture. Claque members received money and free tickets to laugh, cry, shout-and of course clap-in just the right spots, hopefully influencing the rest of the audience to do the same.
Origin and Etymology of claque
French, from claquer to clap, of imitative origin
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 1848
in the meaning defined at sense 1
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See words that rhyme with claque Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about claque
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