Definitions for claw
klɔclaw

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. clawnoun

   sharp curved horny process on the toe of a bird or some mammals or reptiles

2. hook, clawnoun

   a mechanical device that is curved or bent to suspend or hold or pull something

3. claw, chela, nipper, pincernoun

   a grasping structure on the limb of a crustacean or other arthropods

4. clawverb

   a bird's foot

5. clawverb

   move as if by clawing, seizing, or digging

   "They clawed their way to the top of the mountain"

6. clawverb

   clutch as if in panic

   "She clawed the doorknob"

7. clawverb

   scratch, scrape, pull, or dig with claws or nails

8. clawverb

   attack as if with claws

   "The politician clawed his rival"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. clawnoun

   A curved, pointed horny nail on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird.

2. clawnoun

   A foot equipped with such.

3. clawnoun

   The pincer of a crustacean or other arthropod.

4. clawnoun

   A mechanical device resembling a claw, used for gripping or lifting.

5. clawnoun

   The act of catching a ball overhand.

6. clawverb

   To scratch or to tear at.

7. clawverb

   To use the claws to seize, to grip.

8. clawverb

   To use the claws to climb.

9. clawverb

   To perform a claw catch.

10. clawverb

    To move with one's fingertips.

11. Etymology: clawe, from clawu.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. A CLAWnoun

   Etymology: clawan, Saxon.

   1. The foot of a beast or bird, armed with sharp nails; or the pincers or holders of a shell-fish.

   I saw her range abroad to seek her food.
   T’ embrue her teeth and claws with lukewarm blood. Edmund Spenser, Vis. of Bellay.

   What’s justice to a man, or laws,
   That never comes within their claws? Hudibras, p. ii.

   He softens the harsh rigour of the laws,
   Blunts their keen edge, and grinds their harpy claws. Samuel Garth.

   2. Sometimes a hand, in contempt.

2. To Clawverb

   Etymology: clawan, Saxon.

   1. To tear with nails or claws.

   Look, if the wither’d elder hath not his poll claw’d like a parrot. William Shakespeare, Henry IV. p. ii.

   2. To pull, as with the nails.

   Adding to the former these many changes that have happened since, I am afraid we shall not so easily claw off that name. Robert South, Sermons.

   3. To tear or scratch in general.

   But we must claw ourselves with shameful
   And heathen stripes, by their example. Hudibras, p. ii.

   They for their own opinions stand fast,
   Only to have them claw’d and canvast. Hudibras, p. ii.

   4. To scratch or tickle.

   I must laugh when I am merry, and claw no man in his humour. William Shakespeare, Much ado about Nothing.

   5. To flatter: an obsolete sense. See Clawback.6. To Claw off, or away. To scold; to rail at.

   You thank the place where you found money; but the jade fortune is to be clawed away for’t, if you should lose it. Roger L'Estrange.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. claw

   The CLAW hypothesis proposes a negative feedback loop that operates between ocean ecosystems and the Earth's climate. The hypothesis specifically proposes that particular phytoplankton that produce dimethyl sulfide are responsive to variations in climate forcing, and that these responses act to stabilise the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere. The CLAW hypothesis was originally proposed by Robert Jay Charlson, James Lovelock, Meinrat Andreae and Stephen G. Warren, and takes its acronym from the first letter of their surnames.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. claw

   A claw is a sharp, curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in many mammals, birds, and some reptiles. It is used for catching and holding prey, defending against predators, and for digging or climbing. In a note, the term can also be used metaphorically or in a figurative sense to represent the act of grabbing or grasping.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Clawnoun

   a sharp, hooked nail, as of a beast or bird

2. Clawnoun

   the whole foot of an animal armed with hooked nails; the pinchers of a lobster, crab, etc

3. Clawnoun

   anything resembling the claw of an animal, as the curved and forked end of a hammer for drawing nails

4. Clawnoun

   a slender appendage or process, formed like a claw, as the base of petals of the pink

5. Clawnoun

   to pull, tear, or scratch with, or as with, claws or nails

6. Clawnoun

   to relieve from some uneasy sensation, as by scratching; to tickle; hence, to flatter; to court

7. Clawnoun

   to rail at; to scold

8. Clawverb

   to scrape, scratch, or dig with a claw, or with the hand as a claw

9. Etymology: [AS. clawu, cl, cle; akin to D. klaauw, G. klaue, Icel. kl, Sw. & Dan. klo, and perh. to E. clew.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Claw

   A claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes. However, the word "claw" is also often used in reference to an invertebrate. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end of the leg or tarsus for gripping a surface as the creature walks. Crabs', lobsters' and scorpions' pincers, or more formally, their "chelae", are sometimes called claws. A claw is made of hard protein called keratin. Claws are used to catch and hold prey in carnivorous mammals such as cats and dogs, but may also be used for such purposes as digging, climbing trees, self-defense etc., in those and other species. Similar appendages that are flat and do not come to a sharp point are called nails instead. Claw-like projections that do not form at the end of digits, but spring from other parts of the foot are properly named spurs. Claws of animals like tigers, lions, and bears were used in making items such as ornaments, pendants, and brooches. Tigers' and lions' claws are illegal to trade.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Claw

   klaw, n. the hooked nail of a beast or bird: the whole foot of an animal with hooked nails: anything like a claw: an instrument shaped like a claw.—v.t. to scratch or tear as with the claws or nails: to scrape; to seize: (fig.) to flatter, fawn on.—n. Claw′back, a toady, flatterer.—adj. Clawed, having claws.—ns. Claw-hamm′er, a hammer with one part of the head divided into two claws, with which to extract nails; Claw′-hamm′er-coat, a facetious name for a dress-coat.—adj. Claw′less.—Claw me and I'll claw thee, favour me and I shall do you good in return. [A.S. clawu; cog. with Ger. klaue; akin to Cleave, to stick.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. CLAW

   What does CLAW stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the CLAW acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. CLAW

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Claw is ranked #41959 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Claw surname appeared 518 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Claw.
   
   93.6% or 485 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
   2.7% or 14 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   2.3% or 12 total occurrences were White.

Matched Categories

1. • Attack
   • Clutch
   • Horny Structure
   • Mechanical Device
   • Scratch
   • Work

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce claw?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say claw in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of claw in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of claw in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of claw in a Sentence

1. Dwayne Johnson:

   Listen, you've got one shot here, you've got an opportunity -- you've gotta scratch, claw, fight, bite, kick through everything you can to make this happen, it's a back to the wall philosophy and when your back is to the wall every moment in life you have one place to go and that's forward.

2. The Mavericks:

   With this schedule and the magnitude of opponents, you got to scratch and claw to get anything you can, hey, it didn't look good early. We were missing shots. We weren't guarding them well. The guys hung in, and we gave ourselves a chance, and we did just that.

3. Stephen Curry:

   Well have to claw our way to one more win.

4. Tiger Woods:

   I got off to a crap start .... and those are the easier holes, and I had to try to fight back and claw out a round today, which I was able to do.

5. Amarnath Amarasingam:

   Their reach will be diminished, their ability to form a real community online will be crippled, and they will spend most of their time simply trying to claw their way back as opposed to producing and disseminating new content keeping neo-Nazis chasing their tail instead of barking at the rest of us is always a good idea.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=claw
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Claw
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=claw
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claw
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/claw
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=claw
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=claw
9. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html
10. ^ Usage in printed sources
    https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=claw