clique.
A small, exclusive group of individuals, usually having some common characteristic such as lifestyle or social status, or common purpose; specifically one formed for disreputable purposes, or which purports to be an authority on a particular matter; a cabal.
Meaning & usage
A small, exclusive group of individuals, usually having some common characteristic such as lifestyle or social status, or common purpose; specifically one formed for disreputable purposes, or which purports to be an authority on a particular matter; a cabal.
This school used to be really friendly, but now everyone keeps to their own cliques.
A subgraph isomorphic to a complete graph.
The problem of finding the largest clique in an arbitrary graph is NP-complete.
A group of related websites that link to each other, like a webring but with exclusive membership determined by the clique owner.
An informal faction in the Republic of China (1912–1949) led by one or more warlords exercising regional control through local armed forces (particularly during the Warlord Era); a regional junta.
Where this word comes from
The noun is borrowed from French clique (“exclusive group of individuals; (archaic or obsolete) group of people hired to applaud or boo, claque”), from cliquer (“to clap; to clack, to click”), ultimately of imitative origin. The proper noun and verb are derived from the noun.
Often followed by together. To form a clique (“small, exclusive group of individuals, usually having some common characteristic”; noun sense 1); to associate with others in a clannish way.
Often followed by together. To act with others secretly to gain a desired end; to plot, to scheme.
Where this word comes from
The noun is borrowed from French clique (“exclusive group of individuals; (archaic or obsolete) group of people hired to applaud or boo, claque”), from cliquer (“to clap; to clack, to click”), ultimately of imitative origin. The proper noun and verb are derived from the noun.
Alternative letter-case form of Clique (ellipsis of Skeleton Clique (“the fan base of the American band Twenty One Pilots”)).
Where this word comes from
The noun is borrowed from French clique (“exclusive group of individuals; (archaic or obsolete) group of people hired to applaud or boo, claque”), from cliquer (“to clap; to clack, to click”), ultimately of imitative origin. The proper noun and verb are derived from the noun.
Try it on your idea.
clique has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.