clause
Americannoun
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Grammar. a syntactic construction containing a subject and predicate and forming part of a sentence or constituting a whole simple sentence.
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a distinct article or provision in a contract, treaty, will, or other formal or legal written document.
noun
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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
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a section of a legal document such as a contract, will, or draft statute
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
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.
Palace have explored the possibility of offering Wharton - whose contract has three years to run - a new deal with a release clause in the hope of securing his future before next season.
From BBC
It rests on the 14th Amendment’s clause that says no state may “deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law.”
From Los Angeles Times
As well as the six-month prognosis clause, these included requirements for doctors to ensure the patient was acting voluntarily and to find out if they were receiving social or mental health care.
From BBC
She married and divorced actor Don Mitchell and later married baseball legend Curt Flood, who took a stand against baseball’s reserve clause and died in 1997.
From Los Angeles Times
Some standard insurance policies now include "absolute AI exclusion" clauses that expressly deny coverage for AI-related mishaps, Mitchell said.
From Barron's
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.
