claw

American  

[klaw] / klɔ /

noun

• claws
  plural

1. a sharp, usually curved, nail on the foot of an animal, as on a cat, dog, or bird.

2. a similar curved process at the end of the leg of an insect.

3. the pincerlike extremity of specific limbs of certain arthropods.

   lobster claws.

4. any part or thing resembling a claw, as the cleft end of the head of a hammer.

5. Typography. the hooklike projection from the right side of an r or from the bowl of a g.

6. (in a motion-picture mechanism) a device having one or two teeth that hook into the perforations of a length of film and move it one frame at a time at any given speed.

7. Jewelry. one of a group of slender, tapering metal projections rising from the base of a jewelry setting, used to hold a transparent or faceted gemstone in position.

---

verb (used with object)

• claws,
  present (3rd person singular)
• clawed,
  past participle,  past
• clawing
  present participle

1. to tear, scratch, seize, pull, etc., with or as if with claws.

   The kitten clawed my sweater to shreds.

2. to make by or as if by scratching, digging, etc., with hands or claws.

   to claw a hole in the earth.

3. to proceed by or as if by using the hands.

   He clawed his way through the crowd.

verb (used without object)

• claws,
  present (3rd person singular)
• clawed,
  past participle,  past
• clawing
  present participle

1. to scratch, tear, or dig with or as if with claws.

   The cat clawed and hissed in fear.

2. to make fumbling motions.

   He clawed at the door. She clawed for the light switch.

3. Scot. to scratch gently, as to relieve itching.

verb phrase

1. claw back. see clawback.

claw British  

/ klɔː /

noun

1. a curved pointed horny process on the end of each digit in birds, some reptiles, and certain mammals

2. a corresponding structure in some invertebrates, such as the pincer of a crab

3. a part or member like a claw in function or appearance

4. botany the narrow basal part of certain petals and sepals

---

verb

1. to scrape, tear, or dig (something or someone) with claws, etc

2. (tr) to create by scratching as with claws

   to claw an opening

claw Scientific  

/ klô /

1. A sharp, curved nail at the end of a toe of a mammal, reptile, or bird.

2. A pincer, as of a lobster or crab, used for grasping.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• clawer
  noun
• declaw
  verb (used with object)
• clawless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• claws
  plural

Participles

• clawing
  present
• clawed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• claw
  simple
• claws
  simple
• have clawed
  perfect
• has clawed
  perfect
• am clawing
  progressive
• are clawing
  progressive
• is clawing
  progressive
• have been clawing
  perfect progressive
• has been clawing
  perfect progressive

Past

• clawed
  simple
• had clawed
  perfect
• was clawing
  progressive
• were clawing
  progressive
• had been clawing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will claw
  simple
• will have clawed
  perfect
• will be clawing
  progressive
• will have been clawing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of claw

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English clawu; cognate with Old High German chlō(a), akin to Dutch klauw, German Klaue; (verb) Middle English clawen, Old English claw(i)an, derivative of clawu (noun); akin to Dutch klauwen, German klauen

Explanation

The word claw is all about grabbing. It could be a lobster claw or even an ambitious worker clawing his way up the corporate ladder. As a noun, a claw is the pointy finger-like grabbers that birds, insects, and some lizards and mammals have. Machines can have claws too, and maybe you’ve seen the game at an arcade where you make a metal claw pick up a toy. Claw can be a verb as well, meaning to grab, scratch, or pull in a painful and jolting way. Should someone bury you up to your neck in a hole, you’ll have to claw your way out. And you can accidentally claw your date if you grab her arm during a scary movie.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

claw claws clawed clawing

Here’s one more ingredient in the reversal of fortune for some malls: claw machines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The claw machine—that infamous promiser of childhood treasures, known for stealing your quarters and almost never yielding up its flimsy prizes—has gotten an upgrade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

John’s left arm had atrophied, his hand now basically a claw, and two of his fingers were numb.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

The Dodgers’ series against the Brewers set up a chance for the home team to claw back onto the top of the National League standings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Grasping a hanging rope he began hauling himself up, claw over claw.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

The buddy comedy “Deadpool & Wolverine” had its claws into July after it earned $211 million domestically in its opening weekend in 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

Fossils suggest Teilhardina differed from other mammals of the time as it had fingernails rather than claws, which helped it grasp branches and handle food – a key characteristic of primates to this day.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026

Aesthetes had been howling about the Freedom 250 set, a soaring, 92-foot tall structure which resembled one of those arcade machine claws in which you try and fail to grab a stuffed hippopotamus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

Dame Julia has written more than 200 books and is best known for The Gruffalo - a story of a frightening woodland creature with terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

“Vicious claws, maybe? Razor-sharp weapons slashing about? Just the sound of them cutting through the air gives me chills.”

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung led the charge as they clawed back the losses sustained in a sector-wide global rout from the end of June and through July that wiped trillions of dollars off valuations.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

Historically, authorities have clawed back pilfered funds about 75% of the time when scams were reported within 72 hours, said the FBI’s Lynch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The Dodgers clawed back two runs in the seventh.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

But goalkeeper Eloy Room anticipated where Valencia's shot was headed, stooped low to his left and clawed the ball around the post.

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026

I clawed at the hardened plastic so hard, I broke one of my chipped orange fingernails.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

In its place, Bessent said, America now has a “C economy,” in which lower wage earners are, in his telling, finally clawing their way back.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

The principal source of that bounce has been clawing voters back from the Greens and the Liberal Democrats, both of whom have suffered a two-point drop since Burnham's uncontested victory in the Labour leadership contest.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Many MPs feel he is the party's best chance of clawing back support from Nigel Farage's anti-immigrant Reform UK party before the next general election, expected in 2029.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

Top decision makers instead closed the probe, the people said, opting for a lighter-touch option: clawing back money the company earned from selling formula through federally funded nutrition programs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

Anya ran back to where Ivan and Håkon were clawing and kicking a large hole in the barn wall to escape out of.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Related Words

• fingernail
• paw
• tentacle