What does "club" mean?
A heavy object, often a kind of stick, intended for use as a bludgeoning weapon or a plaything.
Club
/klʌb/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A heavy object, often a kind of stick, intended for use as a bludgeoning weapon or a plaything.
- Grammar: club is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: cudgel, nightspot, society, affiliate.
- Useful contrasts: avoid, bare hands, dagger.
- Usage evidence: You may as well withdraw from the club right away.
How to use "club"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "club" 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 "club" 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 "club" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "club" 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 "club" is acting as 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 "cudgel" 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 "club", 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 heavy object, often a kind of stick, intended for use as a bludgeoning weapon or a plaything. countable
"There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs,[…], and all these articles[…] made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished."
- 2 a spot that is open late at night and that provides entertainment (as singers or dancers) as well as dancing and food and drink wordnet
- 3 A heavy object, often a kind of stick, intended for use as a bludgeoning weapon or a plaything.; An implement to hit the ball in certain ball games, such as golf. countable
- 4 stout stick that is larger at one end wordnet
- 5 A heavy object, often a kind of stick, intended for use as a bludgeoning weapon or a plaything.; An item used during routines, the apparatus consisting of a set of two clubs. countable
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 a playing card in the minor suit that has one or more black trefoils on it wordnet
- 7 An association of members joining together for some common purpose, especially sports or recreation. countable
"At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors.[…]In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass."
- 8 a building that is occupied by a social club wordnet
- 9 An association of members joining together for some common purpose, especially sports or recreation.; The fees associated with belonging to such a club. archaic, countable
"He can have no right to the benefits of Society, who will not pay his Club towards the Support of it."
- 10 golf equipment used by a golfer to hit a golf ball wordnet
- 11 A joint charge of expense, or any person's share of it; a contribution to a common fund.
"They laid down the Club."
- 12 a team of professional baseball players who play and travel together wordnet
- 13 An establishment that provides staged entertainment, often with food and drink, such as a nightclub.
"She was sitting in a jazz club, sipping wine and listening to a bass player's solo."
- 14 a formal association of people with similar interests wordnet
- 15 A black clover shape (♣), one of the four symbols used to mark the suits of playing cards.
- 16 A black clover shape (♣), one of the four symbols used to mark the suits of playing cards.; A playing card marked with such a symbol.
"I've got only one club in my hand."
- 17 Any set of people with a shared characteristic. humorous
"You also hate Night Court? Join the club."
- 18 A club sandwich.
"Crab cake sandwiches, tuna melts, chicken clubs, salmon cakes, and prime-rib sandwiches are usually on the menu."
- 19 The slice of bread in the middle of a club sandwich.
- 20 The propeller of an aeroplane. slang
Verb
- 1 To hit with a club. transitive
"He clubbed the poor dog."
- 2 gather into a club-like mass wordnet
- 3 To score a victory over by a large margin.
"[Andy] Murray dropped serve only once in the match, in the 10th game of the third set, and was simply too good for [Stan] Wawrinka, who was left confused by the variety, inventiveness and power hitting of Murray from deep in the court as an opponent who clubbed [Novak] Djokovic in last year's final was simply overwhelmed despite the Parisian crowd attempting to inspire a comeback."
- 4 strike with a club or a bludgeon wordnet
- 5 To join together to form a group. intransitive
"Till grosser atoms, tumbling in the stream / Of fancy, madly met, and clubb'd into a dream."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 gather and spend time together wordnet
- 7 To combine into a club-shaped mass. intransitive, transitive
"a medical condition with clubbing of the fingers and toes"
- 8 unite with a common purpose wordnet
- 9 To go to nightclubs. intransitive
"We went clubbing in Ibiza."
- 10 To pay an equal or proportionate share of a common charge or expense. intransitive
"The owl, the raven, and the bat / Clubb'd for a feather to his hat."
- 11 To raise, or defray, by a proportional assessment. transitive
"to club the expense"
- 12 To drift in a current with an anchor out.
- 13 To throw, or allow to fall, into confusion.
"To club a battalion implies a temporary inability in the commanding officer to restore any given body of men to their natural front in line or column."
- 14 To unite, or contribute, for the accomplishment of a common end. transitive
"to club exertions"
- 15 To turn the breech of (a musket) uppermost, so as to use it as a club. transitive
Example
"You may as well withdraw from the club right away."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "club"?
Common synonyms include: cudgel, nightspot, society, affiliate, agate, alliance.
How do you use "club" in a sentence?
You may as well withdraw from the club right away.
How do you pronounce "club"?
Pronounced /klʌb/.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English clubbe, from Old Norse klubba, klumba (“cudgel”), from Proto-Germanic *klumpô (“clip, clasp; clump, lump; log, block”). Cognate with English clump, cloud, Latin globus, glomus; and perhaps related to Middle Low German kolve (“bulb”), German Kolben (“butt, bulb, club”).