What does claw mean?

Definitions for claw
klɔclaw

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word claw.

Princeton's WordNet

  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"

Wiktionary

  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 Dictionary

  1. A CLAWnoun

    Etymology: clawan, Saxon.

    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. To Clawverb

    Etymology: clawan, Saxon.

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

    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.

    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.

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

    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.

Wikipedia

  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.

ChatGPT

  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 Dictionary

  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.]

Wikidata

  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 Dictionary

  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 Resources

  1. CLAW

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

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  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.

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce claw?

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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. 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.

  2. Stephen Curry:

    Well have to claw our way to one more win.

  3. Alderman Ed Burke:

    This is a step that is necessary to refund existing debt and begin to take steps to claw out of the financial condition we are in at the present time.

  4. 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.

  5. Behnam Ben Taleblu:

    Relieving sanctions on entities active in funding Irans revolutionary foreign policy, especially under the auspices of trying to claw back a fatally flawed deal that added to Tehrans coffers, would be the definition of a self-imposed strategic setback.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for claw

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"claw." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/claw>.

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    A emerge
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