claque
/ˈklæk/
"claque" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“claque” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A group of people hired to attend a performance and to either applaud or boo.
Corpus desk
Index EN-claque · claque · English
claque · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | claque |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈklæk/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “claque” in English
Rare enough to double-check
claque is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈklæk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for claque, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French claque (“group of people hired to applaud or boo, claque”, literally “a slap; a clap”). The correct English form is claque, spelled C-L-A-Q-U-E.
Definition
- 1A group of people hired to attend a performance and to either applaud or boo.
- 2A group of fawning admirers.
- 3A group of people who pre-arrange among themselves to express strong support for an idea, so as to give the false impression of a wider consensus.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how claque appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The most popular singers have been obliged to give free tickets and even to donate cash, lest the claque retaliate by frantic applause at the wrong moment.
The claque isn't paid. In fact, claqueurs pay to get in. The inducement is that they can buy standing room for half price, without waiting in line.
Etymology
Borrowed from French claque (“group of people hired to applaud or boo, claque”, literally “a slap; a clap”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.