claim
Americanverb (used with object)
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claims,
present (3rd person singular)
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claimed,
past participle, past
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claiming
present participle
-
to demand by or as by virtue of a right; demand as a right or as due.
to claim an estate by inheritance.
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to assert and demand the recognition of (a right, title, possession, etc.); assert one's right to.
to claim payment for services.
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to assert or maintain as a fact.
She claimed that he was telling the truth.
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to require as due or fitting.
to claim respect.
verb (used without object)
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claims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
claimed,
past participle, past
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claiming
present participle
noun
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claims
plural
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a demand for something as due; an assertion of a right or an alleged right.
He made unreasonable claims on the doctor's time.
- Synonyms:
- call, requisition, request
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an assertion of something as a fact.
He made no claims to originality.
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a right to claim or demand; a just title to something.
His claim to the heavyweight title is disputed.
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something that is claimed, especially a piece of public land for which formal request is made for mining or other purposes.
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a request or demand for payment in accordance with an insurance policy, a workers' compensation law, etc..
We filed a claim for compensation from the company.
idioms
verb
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to demand as being due or as one's property; assert one's title or right to
he claimed the record
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(takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to assert as a fact; maintain against denial
he claimed to be telling the truth
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to call for or need; deserve
this problem claims our attention
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to take
the accident claimed four lives
noun
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an assertion of a right; a demand for something as due
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an assertion of something as true, real, or factual
he made claims for his innocence
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a right or just title to something; basis for demand
a claim to fame
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to assert one's possession of or right to
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anything that is claimed, esp in a formal or legal manner, such as a piece of land staked out by a miner
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law a document under seal, issued in the name of the Crown or a court, commanding the person to whom it is addressed to do or refrain from doing some specified act former name writ 1
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a demand for payment in connection with an insurance policy, etc
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the sum of money demanded
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Usage
What does claim mean? To claim something is to maintain that the something is a fact, as in The company claims its product cures hiccups. A claim is the assertion of a fact, as in The claim that Shayna has a beautiful voice was proved when she began to sing. To claim is also to demand one’s right to something, such as to claim payment for a service given. As a noun, this claim can be the demand for that something, such as a claim on your time. Example: My ancestors laid claim to this land decades ago and I don't plan on letting it go any time soon.
Synonym Usage
See demand.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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claimernoun
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superclaimnoun
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misclaimverb (used with object)
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overclaimverb (used with object)
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preclaimverb (used with object)
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claimableadjective
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claimlessadjective
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nonclaimableadjective
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unclaimedadjective
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unclaimingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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claimsimple
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claimssimple
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have claimedperfect
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has claimedperfect
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am claimingprogressive
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are claimingprogressive
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is claimingprogressive
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have been claimingperfect progressive
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has been claimingperfect progressive
Past
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claimedsimple
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had claimedperfect
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was claimingprogressive
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were claimingprogressive
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had been claimingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of claim
First recorded in 1250–1300; (verb) Middle English claimen, from Anglo-French, Old French claimer, from Latin clāmāre “to cry out”; (noun) Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French cla(i)me; the noun is derivative of the verb
Explanation
When you express your right to something, you're making a claim to it, like telling your sister, "This bowl of cereal is mine." A claim is when you express your right to something that belongs to you, like your medical records or the deed to your home. When you make a claim or claim something, you're demanding it or saying it’s true. People claim dependents and deductions on their taxes. In court, you could claim you deserve money from an employer who cheated you. You could claim you can juggle chainsaws. With any kind of claim, you're going to have to prove it.
Vocabulary lists containing claim
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 1
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Argumentative Writing
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Many of the people in the group claim to be refugees from the DRC.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
Whether every claim is true is almost beside the point.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026
The Metropolitan Police has since paid her compensation after settling a civil claim over its handling of her original complaint, and acknowledged more should have been done to protect her.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The large cloud providers claim they cannot satisfy the existing demand.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
"Sancho, you know nothing of knighthood! It may not look like a helmet to you, but to me...oh, I recognize it...the enchanted helmet I shall claim for myself."
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
Continuing claims, which scale with the total size of the unemployed population, totaled just under 1.78 million in the week through August 15, climbing 8,000 from the downwardly revised total a week earlier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Such claims are rooted in longstanding fears and superstitions - and are not new on the continent, particularly in communities where belief in witchcraft remains widespread.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Ika's analysis found one account reposted nine such claims within just over a tenth of a second -- hinting at possible coordination.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
U.S. economic data due Thursday include weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
She claims it wasn’t, but who knows if that’s the truth?
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
The federal agent claimed the reference to elections showed “intent to participate in the election process.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Eldahouzze and El Habchi claimed they did not know the robbery was about to take place and were in fear of reprisals from Djoudi.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Loomer publicly claimed credit after Yiannopoulos was detained by ICE in August and ultimately deported to Britain.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026
In July, a US judge approved a $1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and several authors who claimed the San Francisco company illegally copied their work to train its AI model, Claude.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
I could only say that Samir had claimed there were, and Samir was a liar.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
The community services district board in September voted to censure Unger, claiming his “malicious accusations” had put Matson’s family at risk, according to meeting minutes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Chelsea were left furious, claiming Monaco informed them in writing that the deal would not proceed rather than communicating the decision by phone.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
A change not only to when people can get 100% of the benefit they’re owed, but also to when they might be able to begin claiming, could make strategizing more complex.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
CBS also boosted another El-Sayed tweet that was first revealed by the Washington Free Beacon, a right-wing outlet claiming to cover “the enemies of freedom.”
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
I tried to creep by unnoticed, but he stopped me, claiming that I was just the fellow he'd been looking for.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
