What does "clove" mean?
A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree.
Clove
/kləʊv/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree.
- Grammar: clove is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: adhere, bisect, chasm, cleave.
- Useful contrasts: abandon, assemble, detach.
- Usage evidence: A clove cigarette miasma made navigating the pub like swimming underwater.
How to use "clove"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "clove" 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 "clove" 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 "clove" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "clove" 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 "clove" is acting as noun, verb 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 "adhere" 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 "clove", 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 very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree. countable, uncountable
- 2 One of the small bulbs formed in the axils of the scales of a large bulb.
"clove of garlic, garlic clove, clove of a sea-onion, clove of shallot, cloves of bulbs"
- 3 A narrow valley with steep sides, used in areas of North America first settled by the Dutch
- 4 spice from dried unopened flower bud of the clove tree; used whole or ground wordnet
- 5 A clove tree, of the species Syzygium aromaticum (syn. Caryophyllus aromaticus), native to the Moluccas (Indonesian islands), which produces the spice. countable
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 one of the small bulblets that can be split off of the axis of a larger garlic bulb wordnet
- 7 An old English measure of weight, containing 7 pounds (3.2 kg), i.e. half a stone. countable
"Seven pounds make a clove, 2 cloves a stone, 2 stone a tod, 6+¹⁄₂ tods a wey, 2 weys a sack, 12 sacks a last. The 'Pathway' points out the etymology of the word cloves; it calls them ' claves or nails.' It is to be observed here that a sack is 13 tods, and a tod 28 pounds, so that the sack is 364 pounds."
- 8 moderate sized very symmetrical red-flowered evergreen widely cultivated in the tropics for its flower buds which are source of cloves wordnet
- 9 aromatic flower bud of a clove tree; yields a spice wordnet
Verb
- 1 simple past of cleave form-of, past
Example
"A clove cigarette miasma made navigating the pub like swimming underwater."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "clove"?
Common synonyms include: adhere, bisect, chasm, cleave, cleft, cling.
How do you use "clove" in a sentence?
A clove cigarette miasma made navigating the pub like swimming underwater.
How do you pronounce "clove"?
Pronounced /kləʊv/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English clove, an alteration of earlier clowe, borrowed from the first component of Old French clou (de girofle) (modern French clou de girofle), from Latin clāvus (“nail”) for its shape. Also see clāva (“knotty branch, club”). Doublet of clou and clavus.
Etymology 2
From Middle English clove, from Old English clufu, from Proto-West Germanic *klubu, from Proto-Germanic *klubō, related to clēofan (“to cleave, split”), hence with the verbal etymology hereafter.
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Dutch klove (now kloof). Doublet of kloof.