clave
Spanish, noun
clave is spelled C-L-A-V-E (5 letters) and appears 62 times per million words in written Spanish, the 1,408th most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Clave is a Spanish feminine noun meaning “key (to a problem or puzzle)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first/third-person singular present subjunctive of clavar. With an accent, clavé is a different word: “first-person singular preterite indicative of clavar”. The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Explicación de los signos convenidos para escribir en cifra, o de cualesquiera otros distintos de los…”.
What does clave mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininekey (to a problem or puzzle)
- 2
femininepassword
clave WiFi
- 3
femininecode
- 4
feminineclef
- 5
feminineclave
adjective
- 1
femininemasculinekey (important)
verb
- 1
first/third-person singular present subjunctive
- 2
third-person singular imperative
verb
- 1
first-person singular preterite indicative of clavar
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Explicación de los signos convenidos para escribir en cifra, o de cualesquiera otros distintos de los conocidos o usuales. 2. Nota o explicación que necesitan algunos libros o escritos para la inteligencia de su composición artificiosa. 3. Nota o idea por la cual se hace comprensible algo que era enigmático. 4. Llave₁.
adjective: 1. Fundamental.^([cita requerida])
The definition in the Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), in Spanish.
Source: Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of clave
- claves plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to clave
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is clave in Spanish?
clave appears 62 times per million words in written Spanish.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).