: a narrow exclusive circle or group of persons
especially
: one held together by common interests, views, or purposes
high school cliques
cliquishly
adverb
cliquishness
noun
variants
or less commonly cliqueish
1
: tending toward narrow exclusiveness or to form a clique
cliquish attitudes developed among children coming from the fashionable west side
newly arrived immigrants tend to be cliquish for a while
2
: marked by a tendency to divide into cliques
ballet companies by reputation are … cliquish—
Al Hine
Al Hine
cliquishly
adverb
Cliquishly removed from everyone else, these four misshapen heroes maintained their mutual connection through ironic code …
—Frazier Moore, Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times, 8 Oct. 2001
Frazier Moore, Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times, 8 Oct. 2001
cliquishness
noun
There is a slight sense of Southern cliquishness—understandable, I suppose, in a Virginia magazine, and not so hard to take when it involves the likes of Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor and Peter Taylor.
—Daniel Stern, New York Times Book Review, 19 Jan. 1986
Daniel Stern, New York Times Book Review, 19 Jan. 1986
Examples of clique in a Sentence
Noun
that clique refuses to even talk to outsiders at their lunch table
Recent Examples on the Web
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
17 June 2026
Under Meza, player cliques developed, stars were pampered, discipline waned.
—
Scott M. Reid,
Oc Register,
10 June 2026
Prosecutors said the killings were tied to Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a transnational gang that maintains a presence in Los Angeles through smaller groups, or cliques, including in the San Fernando Valley and around MacArthur Park.
—
Sydney Barragan,
Daily News,
6 June 2026
What began as a search for community and understanding turned into an experience that felt akin to the cliques and social hierarchies of high school.
—
Hannah Nwoko,
Parents,
6 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for clique
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Noun
Social rescue arrives in the form of outgoing cool girl Sonya (Molloy), who takes a shine to Coley after a chance encounter in a coffee shop, and invites her to join her clique.
—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
17 June 2026
Under Meza, player cliques developed, stars were pampered, discipline waned.
—
Scott M. Reid,
Oc Register,
10 June 2026
Prosecutors said the killings were tied to Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a transnational gang that maintains a presence in Los Angeles through smaller groups, or cliques, including in the San Fernando Valley and around MacArthur Park.
—
Sydney Barragan,
Daily News,
6 June 2026
What began as a search for community and understanding turned into an experience that felt akin to the cliques and social hierarchies of high school.
—
Hannah Nwoko,
Parents,
6 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for clique
Cite this Entry
“Clique.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clique. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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