claw
verb/klɔː/
/klɔː/
[intransitive, transitive]Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they claw | /klɔː/ /klɔː/ |
| he / she / it claws | /klɔːz/ /klɔːz/ |
| past simple clawed | /klɔːd/ /klɔːd/ |
| past participle clawed | /klɔːd/ /klɔːd/ |
| -ing form clawing | /ˈklɔːɪŋ/ /ˈklɔːɪŋ/ |
- to scratch or tear somebody/something with claws or with your nails
- claw at somebody/something The cat was clawing at the leg of the chair.
- She screamed and clawed at his eyes.
- (figurative) Branches clawed at her hair.
- claw somebody/something He had clawed Stephen across the face.
- (figurative) His hands clawed the air.
- She flew at him, clawing blindly with her nails.
Word OriginOld English clawu (noun), clawian (verb), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch klauw and German Klaue.Want to learn more?
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Idioms
See claw in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryclaw your way back, into something, out of something, to something, etc.
- to gradually achieve something or move somewhere by being determined and using a lot of effort
- She clawed her way to the top of her profession.
- Slowly, he clawed his way out from under the collapsed building.
Check pronunciation:
claw