clave
/ˈklɑːveɪ/noun, verb
clave is spelled C-L-A-V-E: 5 letters. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, clave means “A characteristic pattern of beats, especially the 3-2 son clave” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of clave is claves.
How many letters and syllables are in clave?
| Letters | 5: C-L-A-V-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 70,702nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is clave?
Clave appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce clave?
- /ˈklɑːveɪ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-clave2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with clave?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as clave.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: calve.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of clave
- claves plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- claving participle, present
- claved participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does clave mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A characteristic pattern of beats, especially the 3-2 son clave.
- 2
singular of claves
- 3
Ellipsis of autoclave.
verb
- 1
Ellipsis of autoclave.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does clave come from?
From Spanish clave, from Latin clāvis (“key”). Doublet of clavis and clef.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).