clause

/klɔːz/

//klɔːz// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"clause" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“clause” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,205. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,205
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A group of words that contains a subject and a verb; it may be part of a sentence or may constitute the whole sentence, depending on the syntax in each instance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-clause · clause · English

clause · rank #7,205 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,205
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cluster

Nearest frequency peer: cluster (+1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “clause”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “clause” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

clause vs clue
67% similar
clause vs close
67% similar
clause vs claws
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for clause
PropertyValue
Headwordclause
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/klɔːz/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,205
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “clause”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).clauselands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “cluster” (#7,206), “centered” (#7,203), “complained” (#7,207). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “clause” is #7,205. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around clause (IPA /klɔːz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,205 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for clause, with forms such as "caluse", "cclause", and "clasue". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "clue", "close", "claws", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English clause, claus, borrowed from Old French clause, from Medieval Latin clausa (Latin diminutive clausula (“close, end; a clause, close of a period”)), from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere (“to shut, close”). See close, its doublet. The correct English form is clause, spelled C-L-A-U-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A group of words that contains a subject and a verb; it may be part of a sentence or may constitute the whole sentence, depending on the syntax in each instance.
  2. 2
    A verb, its necessary grammatical arguments, and any adjuncts affecting them.
  3. 3
    A verb along with its subject and their modifiers. If a clause provides a complete thought on its own, then it is an independent (superordinate) clause; otherwise, it is dependent (subordinate). (Independent clauses can be sentences; they can also be part of a sentence. Dependent clauses can only be part of a sentence.)
  4. 4
    A distinct part of a contract, a will or another legal document.
  5. 5
    A constituent (component) of a statement or query.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how clause appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Near-synonyms: sentential, sentence
  2. However, Coordination facts seem to undermine this hasty conclusion: thus, consider the following: (43) [Your sister could go to College], but [would she get a degree?] The second (italicised) conjunct is a Clause containing an inverted Auxiliary, would. Given our earlier assumptions that inverted Auxiliaries are in C, and that C is a constituent of S-bar…

Etymology

From Middle English clause, claus, borrowed from Old French clause, from Medieval Latin clausa (Latin diminutive clausula (“close, end; a clause, close of a period”)), from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere (“to shut, close”). See close, its doublet.

This word in other languages

cláusula(Español)proposition(Français)Nebensatz(Deutsch)oração(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • caluse
  • cclause
  • clasue
  • claues
  • clausse
  • cllause
  • cluase
  • lcause

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of clause - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

caluse2cclause1clasue2claues2clausse1cllause1cluase2lcause2
Edit distance from "clause"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "clause"?
"clause" is spelled C-L-A-U-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /klɔːz/.
What does "clause" mean?
As a noun, "clause" means: A group of words that contains a subject and a verb; it may be part of a sentence or may constitute the whole sentence, depending on the syntax in each instance.
What words are commonly confused with "clause"?
"clause" is commonly confused with "clue", "close", "claws". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "clause"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "clause" is /klɔːz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "clause"?
From Middle English clause, claus, borrowed from Old French clause, from Medieval Latin clausa (Latin diminutive clausula (“close, end; a clause, close of a period”)), from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere (“to shut, close”). See close, ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "clause", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Bernie#7,200asylum#7,197dancer#7,213Alfred#7,196

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

debts8 variantsdenial8 variantsvinyl8 variantsvaccine8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list