What does "claw" mean?
A curved, pointed, horny projection on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird.
Claw
/klɔ/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A curved, pointed, horny projection on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird.
- Grammar: claw is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: hook, pincer, abduct, abrade.
- Useful contrasts: hooves, lose, pad.
- Usage evidence: "I cannot claw my owner", said the cat.
How to use "claw"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "claw" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "claw" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "claw" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "claw" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "claw" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "hook" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "claw", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A curved, pointed, horny projection on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird.
- 2 a bird's foot wordnet
- 3 A foot equipped with such.
- 4 sharp curved horny process on the toe of a bird or some mammals or reptiles wordnet
- 5 The pincer (chela) of a crustacean or other arthropod.
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 a grasping structure on the limb of a crustacean or other arthropods wordnet
- 7 A mechanical device resembling a claw, used for gripping or lifting.
- 8 a mechanical device that is curved or bent to suspend or hold or pull something wordnet
- 9 A human fingernail, particularly one extending well beyond the fingertip. colloquial
- 10 A slender appendage or process, formed like a claw, such as the base of petals of the pink.
"a narrow base, as the petals of a Rose, where the claw is very short"
- 11 The act of catching a ball overhand.
- 12 A tree with one internal vertex and three leaves.
Verb
- 1 To scratch or to tear at.
"Using her hands like windshield wipers, she tried to flick snow away from her mouth. When she clawed at her chest and neck, the crumbs maddeningly slid back onto her face. She grew claustrophobic."
- 2 attack as if with claws wordnet
- 3 To use the claws to seize, to grip.
- 4 clutch as if in panic wordnet
- 5 To use the claws to climb.
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 scratch, scrape, pull, or dig with claws or nails wordnet
- 7 To perform a claw catch.
- 8 move as if by clawing, seizing, or digging wordnet
- 9 To move with one's fingertips.
"De Gea was United's hero again within seconds of Hernandez's equaliser, diving to his left to claw away Dirk Kuyt's shot as he got on the end of a superb cross from Stewart Downing."
- 10 To relieve an uneasy feeling, such as an itch, by scratching (someone or something); hence (figuratively), to flatter or humour (someone); to court, to fawn on. obsolete, transitive
"I cannot hide what I am: I must be sad when I have cause, and smile at no man's jests; eat when I have stomach, and wait for no man's leisure; sleep when I am drowsy, and tend on no man's business; laugh when I am merry, and claw no man in his humour."
- 11 To rail at, revile, or scold (someone or something). obsolete, transitive
"In the aforesaid preamble, the king fairly claweth the great monasteries, wherein, saith he, religion, thanks be to God, is right well kept and observed; though he claweth them soon after in another acceptation."
- 12 To do (something) quickly. obsolete, transitive
"Do'n't you remember, Sirrah, ſayes one, hovv vve clavv'd it avvay at ſuch a Place! Yes, ye Damn'd Rogue you, cryes t'other, vvhen you vvere ſo drunk you took your Aunt for the Bavvd."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Navajo.
Example
""I cannot claw my owner", said the cat."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "claw"?
Common synonyms include: hook, pincer, abduct, abrade, acquire, agonize.
How do you use "claw" in a sentence?
"I cannot claw my owner", said the cat.
How do you pronounce "claw"?
Pronounced /klɔ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English clawe, from Old English clawu, from Proto-Germanic *klawō. Compare West Frisian klau, Dutch klauw, German Klaue, Danish klo, Norwegian klo, and Swedish klo.
Etymology 2
From Middle English clawen, from Old English clawan, clāwan, *clēn, clawian, from Proto-Germanic *klawjaną.
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Navajo Claw, variant of Clah.