clue

noun \ ˈklü \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of clue

1 : something that guides through an intricate procedure or maze of difficulties; specifically : a piece of evidence that leads one toward the solution of a problem

2 : idea, notion

had no clue what he meant

See clue defined for English-language learners

See clue defined for kids

Examples of clue in a Sentence

The book gives the reader plenty of clues to solve the mystery.
Science gives us clues about the origin of the universe.
“Guess who I met today.” “Can you give me a clue?”
It gives a clue as to how to proceed.

Recent Examples of clue from the Web

But the skirmish over the storage locker could offer a clue to his larger counter-offensive, one that is more political than legal.

— chris smith, The Hive, "“Why Hurry to Make a Deal?”: With Trump Raging at Mueller, Manafort May Be Gunning for a Pardon," 11 Apr. 2018
The tax mailing address for the homes might offer one clue to the investor’s plans.

— catherine reagor, azcentral, "Investor named after mythical hellhound is snatching up metro Phoenix's affordable house s," 7 Apr. 2018
Unfortunately, the invitation offers zero clues as to what the pending announcement could be.

— chris welch, The Verge, "Spotify will make a ‘news announcement’ on April 24th in New York," 6 Apr. 2018
The central banker, who is a voting member of the interest-rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, didn’t offer clues about the timing of the next increase.

— michael s. derby, WSJ, "Fed’s Williams Wants More Rate Rises, Not Yet Worried About Trade Spat," 6 Apr. 2018
The Dodgers have not publicly said what substances were spilled, but pitcher Ross Stripling offered a clue after the exhibition finale had been called.

— bill shaikin, latimes.com, "Dodgers 'confident' in field condition after sewage incident; fans offered discounts to Marlins series," 29 Mar. 2018
The state, in its lawsuit, offered a clue from a surprising source — a researcher from the Census Bureau itself.

— bob egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, "What courts will be looking at in judging new census question on citizenship," 27 Mar. 2018
But the handful of places where the probe and its related controversies are already in the foreground offer some clues.

— alex seitz-wald, NBC News, "Russia probe descends on Nunes’ reelection, threatens to upend midterms," 26 Mar. 2018
Fans were anxious to see if tonight would offer any clues.

— nikki delamotte, cleveland.com, "Panic! At The Disco surprise Grog Shop show: Fan reactions of social media," 19 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'clue.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The word clue was originally a variant spelling of clew, meaning “ball of thread or yarn.” Our modern sense of clue, “guide to the solution of a mystery,” grows out of a motif in myth and folklore, the ball of thread that helps in finding one’s way out of a maze. Of these stories the best known is the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. In the myth, Theseus unravels a ball of thread as he searches for the monstrous Minotaur in the Labyrinth. After killing the Minotaur, he retraces his steps out of the maze by rewinding the thread.

Origin and Etymology of clue

alteration of clew

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1665

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

clue Synonyms

Synonyms

cue, hint, indication, inkling, intimation, lead, suggestion;

Near Antonyms

answer, solution;

hunch, idea, inspiration, notion;

allusion, implication, inference, innuendo, insinuation;

assistance, nod, prompt, tip, tip-off, wink;

feeling, foreboding, intuition, premonition, presentiment, suspicion;

augury, foreshadower, foretaste, harbinger, omen, portent, prefigurement, presage, symptom;

clue

verb

Definition of clue

clued; clueing or cluing

transitive verb

1 : to provide with a clue

2 : to give reliable information to

he clued me in on how it happened

See clue defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of clue from the Web

The subtle sweetness and herbal notes shine, cluing you into the fact cucumbers are indeed a fruit—hell, a good one kinda tastes like a melon.

— alex delany, Bon Appetit, "A Definitive Ranking of Grocery Store Cucumbers," 9 Apr. 2018
That equipment clued Wurman in to call off his crew from the chase that day, while Samaras continued into the confusing twists and turns of the tornado.

— maya wei-haas, Smithsonian, "How a Legendary Storm Chaser Changed the Face of Tornado Science," 5 Apr. 2018
Scandals at Colorado, USC, SMU, Ohio State, Miami, Michigan and Alabama weren’t enough to clue the NCAA and its member institutions into the fact that there was shady business going on in the recruitment and retention of players?

— nancy armour, USA TODAY, "Final Four: College athletics has changed, and it's long past time NCAA recognized it," 29 Mar. 2018
From there, Motoyama's team clued in on the most limiting factor of the Hololens hardware: that its visible field of view is far too small.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Pac-Man on Hololens: Bandai Namco shows us how they made it not suck," 21 Mar. 2018
Kevin and Zoe end up dating, but many hints throughout the episode clue us into why a wedding may not be in their future.

— eileen reslen, Good Housekeeping, "The "This Is Us" Finale Moments You Definitely Missed," 14 Mar. 2018
Jughead is now comfortable enough to put his arm around her in public, which clues the whole gang into their new makeout-buddy status.

— noelle devoe, Seventeen, "A Complete Timeline of Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper's Relationship on "Riverdale" Season 1," 29 Mar. 2018
But sometimes there’s nothing that even a strong player can do.bl Kudos to Michael, who votes with the majority against James, and doesn’t clue his fellow Malolo into the imminent blindside.

— stephen fishbach, PEOPLE.com, "Stephen Fishbach's Survivor Blog: Why 'Strategy Is So Situational and So Personal'," 28 Mar. 2018
Officials courting Amazon haven't clued in the building's owners, Bortz added.

— randy tucker, Cincinnati.com, "'Most important block in the city:' What's next for Macy's site Downtown," 2 Jan. 2018

First Known Use of clue

1934

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

CLUE Defined for English Language Learners

clue

noun

Definition of clue for English Language Learners

: something that helps a person find something, understand something, or solve a mystery or puzzle
: an understanding of something : knowledge about something

CLUE Defined for Kids

clue

noun \ ˈklü \

Definition of clue for Students

: something that helps a person to find something or to solve a mystery

History for clue

The word clue was originally an alternate spelling of clew, meaning “a ball of thread or yarn.” Our usual modern sense of clue, “something that helps solve a mystery,” grows out of the image of a ball of thread that helps a person to find a way out of a maze. Of stories containing this image, the best known is the Greek myth of Theseus and Ariadne. Ariadne gave the hero Theseus a ball of thread that he unraveled as he searched the labyrinth, or huge maze, of her father, King Minos. After killing the monster in the labyrinth, Theseus retraced his steps by rewinding the thread.