clique
/klik/noun, verb
clique is spelled C-L-I-Q-U-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “click vs clique” about 10 times a month (Bing, United States). As a noun, clique means “A small, exclusive group of individuals, usually having some common characteristic such as lifestyle or social status, or common purpose…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of clique is cliques.
How many letters and syllables are in clique?
| Letters | 6: C-L-I-Q-U-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,835th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is clique?
Clique appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th 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 clique?
- UK /kliːk/
- US /klik/
- US /ˈklɪk/
Clique has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-clique-3.ogg, En-uk-clique.ogg, En-us-clique.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with clique
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: cleek (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: click.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with clique?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as clique from its last stressed vowel (/ik/):
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 clique
- cliques plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- click
- cliquing participle, present
- cliqued participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does clique mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small, exclusive group of individuals, usually having some common characteristic such as lifestyle or social status, or common purpose; specifically one formed for disreputable purposes, or which purports to be an authority on a particular matter; a cabal.
Near-synonyms: circle, faction, gang
- 2
A subgraph isomorphic to a complete graph.
The problem of finding the largest clique in an arbitrary graph is NP-complete.
- 3
A group of related websites that link to each other, like a webring but with exclusive membership determined by the clique owner.
- 4
An informal faction in the Republic of China (1912–1949) led by one or more warlords exercising regional control through local armed forces (particularly during the Warlord Era); a regional junta.
verb
- 1
informalTo form a clique (“small, exclusive group of individuals, usually having some common characteristic”; noun sense 1); to associate with others in a clannish way.
- 2
informalTo act with others secretly to gain a desired end; to plot, to scheme.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Clique in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | clique , former une clique |
| German | Clique |
| Portuguese | clique, panelinha |
| Spanish | clica, clika, bando, bolita, corrillo, mundillo |
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 clique come from?
The noun is borrowed from French clique (“exclusive group of individuals; (archaic or obsolete) group of people hired to applaud or boo, claque”), from cliquer (“to clap; to clack, to click”), ultimately of imitative origin. The proper noun and verb are derived from the noun.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).