Dictionaries › English

cling

Pronunciation: /ˈklɪŋ/

The English word “cling” has 11 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. Fruit (especially peach) whose flesh adheres strongly to the pit.
  2. Adherence; attachment; devotion.
  3. An ornament that clings to a window so as to be seen from outside.

verb

  1. To hold very tightly, as to not fall off.
  2. To adhere to an object, without being affixed, in such a way as to follow its contours. Used especially of fabrics and films.
  3. To cause to adhere to, especially by twining round or embracing.
  4. To cause to dry up or wither.
  5. To dry up or wither.
  6. To be fond of, to feel strongly about and dependent on.
  7. To produce a high-pitched ringing sound, like a small bell.

interjection

  1. Imitative of a high-pitched ringing sound.

Etymology

From Middle English clingen, from Old English clingan (“to adhere”), from Proto-West Germanic *klingan, from Proto-Germanic *klinganą. Cognate with Danish klynge (“to cluster, to crowd”). Compare clump.

Keep exploring: in the interactive dictionary every word of a definition is a link. Open “cling” there

More English words

About this dictionary

The English dictionary on Glottosphere has 650,529 entries with a page. Browse the English dictionary.

Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.