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\ ˈklək 
\
\clucked; clucking; clucks
Definition of cluck
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to make a cluck
2 : to make a clicking sound with the tongue
3 : to express interest or concern
critics clucked over the new developments
cluck
nounDefinition of cluck (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : the characteristic sound made by a hen especially in calling her chicks
2 : a stupid or naive person
a dumb cluck
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Synonyms & Antonyms for cluck
Synonyms: Noun
- airhead,
- birdbrain,
- blockhead,
- bonehead,
- bubblehead,
- chowderhead,
- chucklehead,
- clodpoll
- (or clodpole),
- clot
- [British],
- clunk,
- cretin,
- cuddy
- (or cuddie)
- [British dialect],
- deadhead,
- dim bulb
- [slang],
- dimwit,
- dip,
- dodo,
- dolt,
- donkey,
- doofus
- [slang],
- dope,
- dork
- [slang],
- dullard,
- dum-dum,
- dumbbell,
- dumbhead,
- dummkopf,
- dummy,
- dunce,
- dunderhead,
- fathead,
- gander,
- golem,
- goof,
- goon,
- half-wit,
- hammerhead,
- hardhead,
- idiot,
- ignoramus,
- imbecile,
- jackass,
- know-nothing,
- knucklehead,
- lamebrain,
- loggerhead
- [chiefly dialect],
- loon,
- lump,
- lunkhead,
- meathead,
- mome
- [archaic],
- moron,
- mug
- [chiefly British],
- mutt,
- natural,
- nimrod
- [slang],
- nincompoop,
- ninny,
- ninnyhammer,
- nit
- [chiefly British],
- nitwit,
- noddy,
- noodle,
- numskull
- (or numbskull),
- oaf,
- pinhead,
- prat
- [British],
- ratbag
- [chiefly Australian],
- saphead,
- schlub
- (also shlub)
- [slang],
- schnook
- [slang],
- simpleton,
- stock,
- stupe,
- stupid,
- thickhead,
- turkey,
- woodenhead,
- yahoo,
- yo-yo
Antonyms: Noun
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Examples of cluck in a Sentence
Verb
The hen clucked at her chicks.
The driver clucked at the horses to get them moving.
Commentators have been clucking over his lack of experience. Noun
Don't be such a dumb cluck.
stuck with a bunch of clucks on an extended bus tour
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Recent Examples on the Web: Verb For Gen Xers staring down middle-aged obsolescence, the Williams twins’ video provides a satisfying twofer: a chance to cluck their tongues at clueless youths while confirming the supremacy of their own touchstones.
—
Jody Rosen, New York Times, "The Racial Anxiety Lurking Behind Reaction Videos," 27 Aug. 2020 Each day the tawny redheads mingle and cluck, drink water and peck at their food.
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Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "It wasn't just toilet paper. People stocked up on eggs during pandemic, sending wholesale prices skyrocketing," 23 Apr. 2020 On a recent day Lein stood in one of her barns as a contented chorus of 9,400 chickens clucked and murmured.
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Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "It wasn't just toilet paper. People stocked up on eggs during pandemic, sending wholesale prices skyrocketing," 23 Apr. 2020 The latest iteration is Fifth Macroyan, a cluster of 18-story apartment towers now under construction, featuring balconies and large windows on a flat lot populated by clucking chickens.
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David Zucchino, New York Times, "In Kabul’s Heart, Soviet Towers Harbor Decades of Tales," 9 Apr. 2020 Your role here isn’t to cluck your tongue, but to find a safe and quick route past.
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Matt Bean, Sunset Magazine, "The New Rules of Hiking During Quarantine," 20 Apr. 2020 August clucked his tongue and the cat came sidling up, arching its back, rubbing against August’s boot.
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New York Times, "‘August,’ by Callan Wink: An Excerpt," 31 Mar. 2020 Fitted with a special proprietary formula that allows the caller the ability to cluck, purr, and yelp when the box is wet, a waterproof box call is a must-have for rainy day turkeys.
—
Jace Bauserman, Outdoor Life, "6 Tips For Hunting Turkeys in Bad Weather," 4 Mar. 2020 Watch a few how-to YouTube videos and learn to cluck and moan.
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Jace Bauserman, Field & Stream, "Three Keys to Fooling Late-Season Canada Geese," 2 Jan. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun More calcium with every peck means more cluck for your buck.
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Dallas News, "Dallasite launches Boxed Bites picnic meal delivery," 17 Aug. 2020 But Maggie is one of those somewhat sainted free spirits who light up everyday dreariness (at least in the movies), stirring things up while inspiring clucks of disapproval and censure.
—
Manohla Dargis, New York Times, "‘To the Stars’ Review: Rebels in Bobby Socks, Yearning for More," 23 Apr. 2020 But don’t get carried away and string together too many loud, aggressive, irregular clucks and pocks that can drown out a turkey’s gobble.
—
Michael Hanback, Outdoor Life, "25 Top Spring Turkey Hunting Tips," 20 Apr. 2020 Pips and whistles, and the first whispery yelps—and there will be some bubbly clucks too.
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The Editors, Field & Stream, "The Outdoorsman’s Guide to Social Distancing," 18 Mar. 2020 Focus on mastering the cluck and purr, purr, and putt.
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Tony J. Peterson, Outdoor Life, "7 Tips for Bowhunting Turkeys this Spring," 9 Apr. 2020 As concerns about public exposure mount due to the coronavirus pandemic, area residents are opting to get more cluck for their buck by raising their own flocks of backyard fowl for the egg supply.
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Chuck Blount, ExpressNews.com, "San Antonians fix egg shortages by hoarding chickens in addition to toilet paper because coronavirus," 5 Apr. 2020 The cluck is just a series of high and low notes in quick succession.
—
Jace Bauserman, Field & Stream, "Three Keys to Fooling Late-Season Canada Geese," 2 Jan. 2020 Next there’s the chuckle, a satisfied laugh, A cluck to yourself that feels good.
—
Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, "Bette Midler Looks Back on Her Autobiographical, Fantastical Children’s Book, “The Saga of Baby Divine”," 25 June 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cluck.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for cluck
cluck
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of cluck
(Entry 1 of 2)
of a chicken : to make a low sound
: to make a low sound with the tongue
informal : to talk about something in an excited and often disapproving way
cluck
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of cluck (Entry 2 of 2)
: a short, low sound that is made by a chicken
: a short, low sound that is used to show disapproval or sympathy
US, informal : a stupid or foolish person
See the full definition for cluck in the English Language Learners Dictionary
cluck
verb\ ˈklək \
\clucked; clucking
Kids Definition of cluck
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to make the low sound of or like a hen
cluck
nounKids Definition of cluck (Entry 2 of 2)
: the sound made by a hen
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Time Traveler for cluck
The first known use of cluck was in the 15th century
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