clause
Forms
- Plural
- clauses
- present (v1)
- clause
- past (v2)
- claused
- past participle (v3)
- claused
- present participle
- clausing
- 3rd person singular
- clauses
Definitions
1.A group of words that contains a subject and a verb; it may be part of a sentence or may constitute the whole sentence, depending on the syntax in each instance.
2.A verb, its necessary grammatical arguments, and any adjuncts affecting them.
3.A distinct part of a contract, a will or another legal document.
4.A verb along with its subject and their modifiers. If a clause provides a complete thought on its own, then it is an independent (superordinate) clause; otherwise, it is dependent (subordinate). (Independent clauses can be sentences; they can also be part of a sentence. Dependent clauses can only be part of a sentence.)
1.To amend (a bill of lading or similar document).
- There is little authority in English law dealing with the liability of a carrier who unnecessarily clauses a bill of lading.
Frequency
Overall
Rare· #4556
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English clause, claus, borrowed from Old French clause, from Medieval Latin clausa (Latin diminutive clausula (“close, end; a clause, close of a period”)), from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere (“to shut, close”).
See close, its doublet.