Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Clay

//kleɪ// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun

1
A surname originating as an occupation. countable, uncountable
2
A male given name transferred from the surname. countable, uncountable
"When he was about five years old some kids asked Clay why his mother had called him that. And he did not know. But began to wonder."
3
A diminutive of the male given name Clayton. countable, uncountable
4
A number of places in the United States:; A city in Jefferson County, Alabama. countable, uncountable
5
A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Sacramento County, California. countable, uncountable

Show 9 more definitions

6
A number of places in the United States:; A home rule city in Webster County, Kentucky, named after Henry Clay. countable, uncountable
7
A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Adair County, Missouri. countable, uncountable
8
A number of places in the United States:; A town in Onondaga County, New York, named after Henry Clay. countable, uncountable
9
A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Franklin Township, Jackson County, Ohio. countable, uncountable
10
A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Burleson County, Texas. countable, uncountable
11
A number of places in the United States:; A town, the county seat of Clay County, West Virginia. countable, uncountable
12
A number of places in the United States:; A ghost town in the town of Komensky, Jackson County, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
13
A number of places in the United States:; A number of townships in the United States, listed under Clay Township. countable, uncountable
14
Ellipsis of Clay County. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable

Noun

1
A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics. uncountable, usually
"Three chairs of the steamer type, all maimed, comprised the furniture of this roof-garden, with (by way of local color) on one of the copings a row of four red clay flower-pots filled with sun-baked dust […]"
2
the dead body of a human being wordnet
3
An earth material with ductile qualities. uncountable, usually
4
a very fine-grained soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired wordnet
5
A tennis court surface made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate. uncountable, usually
"The French Open is played on clay."

Show 7 more definitions

6
water soaked soil; soft wet earth wordnet
7
The material of the human body. uncountable, usually
"From clay we are made."
8
A particle less than 3.9 microns in diameter, following the Wentworth scale. uncountable, usually
9
A clay pipe for smoking tobacco. uncountable, usually
10
A clay pigeon. informal, uncountable, usually
"We went shooting clays at the weekend."
11
Land or territory of a country or other political region, especially when subject to territorial claims. Internet, humorous, uncountable, usually
"Vilnius is rightful Polish clay."
12
A moth, Mythimna ferrago uncountable, usually

Verb

1
To add clay to, to spread clay onto. transitive
2
To purify using clay. transitive
"1776, Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Book IV, Chapter 7: Of Colonies, Part 2: Causes of Prosperity of New Colonies, They amounted, therefore, to a prohibition, at first of claying or refining sugar for any foreign market, and at present of claying or refining it for the market, which takes off, perhaps, more than nine-tenths of the whole produce."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English cley, clay, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”), from Proto-West Germanic *klaij, from Proto-Germanic *klajjaz (“clay”), from Proto-Indo-European *gley- (“to glue, paste, stick together”). Cognate with Dutch klei (“clay”), Low German Klei (“clay”), German Klei, Danish klæg (“clay”); compare Ancient Greek γλία (glía), Latin glūten (“glue”) (whence ultimately English glue), Russian глина (glina, “clay”). Related also to clag, clog.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

From a Middle English occupational name for a clay worker, or a habitational name, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”).

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: clay