# clique

> English word · Noun · IPA /kliːk/ · frequency rank #23,784

## Definitions
1. A small, exclusive group of individuals, usually according to lifestyle or social status; a cabal.
2. A subgraph isomorphic to a complete graph.
3. A group of related web sites that link to each other, like a webring but with exclusive membership determined by the clique owner.
4. A shortened form of the Skeleton Clique, the fan base of the Twenty One Pilots.

## Etymology
Borrowed from French clique, ultimately of imitative origin. Influenced by "claque", though this may have happened in French rather than in English.

## Easily confused with
- **clue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clique-vs-clue)
- **Clive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clique-vs-clive)
- **cheque** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cheque-vs-clique)
- **cliché** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cliche-vs-clique)
- **cirque** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cirque-vs-clique)
- **cinque** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cinque-vs-clique)

## Common misspellings (8)
`cclique`, `cilque`, `cliqeu`, `cliqque`, `cliuqe`, `cllique`, `clqiue`, `lcique`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/clique