clause

American  

[klawz] / klɔz /

noun

1. Grammar. a syntactic construction containing a subject and predicate and forming part of a sentence or constituting a whole simple sentence.

2. a distinct article or provision in a contract, treaty, will, or other formal or legal written document.

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clause British  

/ klɔːz /

noun

1. grammar a group of words, consisting of a subject and a predicate including a finite verb, that does not necessarily constitute a sentence See also main clause subordinate clause coordinate clause

2. a section of a legal document such as a contract, will, or draft statute

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clause Cultural  

1. A group of words in a sentence that contains a subject and predicate. (See dependent clause and independent clause.)

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Other Word Forms

• clausal
  adjective
• subclausal
  adjective
• subclause
  noun

Etymology

Origin of clause

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English claus(e), from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin clausa, back formation from Latin clausula clausula

Explanation

A clause is a group of words with a subject and verb. That kind of clause is handy when talking about grammar. Another kind of clause is a provision or stipulation in a legal contract. Clause is a noun that comes from the old French clause, which, if we trace it way back, comes from the Latin clausula, “the end, a closing termination.” Around 1300, the “ending” implication of the word began to fade and was replaced by “article or section of a text.” In the grammatical sense, every sentence must have at least one independent clause. And in the legal sense, documents like prenuptial agreements or job contract often contain clauses.

Example Sentences

Social Security comes with a survivorship clause, meaning that when the spouse getting the higher Social Security payments dies, the surviving spouse can trade up and get the higher of the two payments.

From MarketWatch • May 1, 2026

Wilson says the board was seeking to have him put millions of dollars into an escrow account to cover a “hypothetical, potential future breach of the nondisparagement” clause.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

Prudence was clearly not a priority, given that reshoots were ordered when production discovered a clause in Jackson accuser Jordan Chandler’s legal settlement that barred him from being mentioned or depicted in a film.

From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026

Uber is violating a clause in the proposition that requires the company to provide an appeals process for drivers who are terminated, the organization said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

When an item is modified by a relative clause, and its role inside the clause is the object of the verb, the reader is faced with a long span between the filler and the gap.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• article
• paragraph
• passage
• provision
• requirement
• section
• specification
• stipulation