Clovis

¹ American  

[kloh-vis] / ˈkloʊ vɪs /

adjective

1. of or relating to a Paleo-Indian cultural tradition of North America, especially the American Southwest, dated 10,000–9000 b.c. and characterized by a usually bifacial, fluted stone projectile point Clovis point used in big-game hunting.

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Clovis ² American  

[kloh-vis] / ˈkloʊ vɪs /

noun

1. a town in central California.

2. a city in E New Mexico.

3. a male given name.

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Etymology

Origin of Clovis

1955–60; after Clovis, New Mexico, near where such projectile points were found

Example Sentences

It happened on Friday night with a 73-66 win over Clovis in the girls’ Division I state championship game at Golden 1 Center.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

"These three sites were classic sites in the discovery and the documentation of the megafaunal extinctions in North America and the disappearance of the Clovis culture," said Kennett.

From Science Daily • Jan. 1, 2026

The loss of Ice Age megafauna and the disappearance of Clovis tools and artifacts occurred around the same time as the onset of the Younger Dryas.

From Science Daily • Jan. 1, 2026

"If we don't load the boats enough, we won't break even," Clovis Engombe, vice-president of the local shipowners' association, told AFP.

From Barron's • Oct. 13, 2025

Yet, as Fiedel conceded to me, the collapse of the Clovis consensus means that archaeologists must consider unorthodox possibilities, including that some other people preceded the ancestors of today’s Indians into the Americas.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann