clew
/kluː/noun, verb
clew is spelled C-L-E-W: 4 letters. It appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 113,022nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, clew means “Yarn or thread as used to guide one's way through a maze or labyrinth; a guide, a clue” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of clew is clews.
How many letters and syllables are in clew?
| Letters | 4: C-L-E-W |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 14 million words; the 113,022nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
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).
How common is clew?
Clew appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 113,022nd 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 clew?
- /kluː/
- /kluʊ̯/
- /kljuː/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-clue.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with clew
Sounds like: clou, clue (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of clew
- clews plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- clewing participle, present
- clewed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does clew mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
obsoleteA roughly spherical mass or body.
If the whole troupe be diuided into many clewes, or round bunches, you need not then doubt but that there are many kings.
- 2
archaicA ball of thread or yarn.
- 3
Yarn or thread as used to guide one's way through a maze or labyrinth; a guide, a clue.
- 4
The lower corner(s) of a sail to which a sheet is attached for trimming the sail (adjusting its position relative to the wind); the metal loop or cringle in the corner of the sail, to which the sheet is attached. (on a triangular sail) The trailing corner relative to the wind direction.
"Clew" is Saxon; "garnet" (from granato, a fruit) is Italian,–that is, the garnet- or pomegranate-shaped block fastened to the clew or corner of the courses, and hence the rope running through the block.
- 5
The sheets so attached to a sail.
- 6
The cords suspending a hammock.
- 7
archaicArchaic spelling of clue.
verb
- 1
to roll into a ball
- 2
to raise the lower corner(s) of (a sail)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Clew in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense ball of thread:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does clew come from?
From Middle English clew, clewe, clowe, clue, clwe, clyw, clywe, from Old English clēowen, clīewen, clīowen, clīwen, clȳwe, clȳwen (“ball, sphere; skein”), from Proto-Germanic *kliuwiną, *klewô (“bale, ball, clump, mass”), from Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to ball up, clump together; lump, swelling”). Akin to Old English clǣġ (“clay”). Doublet of knawel.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).