claw Hear it!

claw definition

claw (klô)

noun

  1. a sharp, hooked or curved horny structure, or nail, on the foot of a bird and of many reptiles and mammals
  2. a foot with such structures at its end
  3. the pincers, or chela, of a lobster, crab, scorpion, etc., or on the limb of certain insects
  4. anything resembling or regarded as a claw the claw of a hammer

Etymology: ME claue < OE clawu < IE *g(e)l-eu- < base *gel-, to make round, clench (as a fist) > cling, clamp, climb

transitive verb, intransitive verb

to scratch, clutch, pull, dig, or tear with or as with claws

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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