clash

UK/ˈklæʃ/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British/ˈklaʃ/

clash noun: a loud sound, like the crashing together of metal objects; a crash.

Noun

clash (countable and uncountable, plural clashes)

(onomatopoeic) A loud sound, like the crashing together of metal objects; a crash.
- I heard a clash from the kitchen, and rushed in to find the cat had knocked over some pots and pans.
- Alone amid clashes of rain against the house.2025 January 28, Patricia McLinn, Lattimore Mountain (The Sheila Mackey Collection, Book 1), Craig Place Books, →ISBN
A skirmish, a hostile encounter.
- In Anatolia tensions between state officials (ehl-i örf) and the peasants were strained to breaking point.
  At several places—particularly in the frontier provinces—there were fierce clashes between the janissaries stationed there and the governors. In Aleppo and Damascus incidents were common after...2018, Pál Fodor, The Business of State. Ottoman Finance Administration and Ruling Elites in Transition (1580s–1615) (Studien zur Sprache, Geschichte und Kultur der Turkvölker; 28), Berlin: Klaus...
- Protesters took to the streets and stormed federal buildings. At least 77 people died in violent clashes between protesters and police and then-Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli was forced to resign.2026 March 11, Chad de Guzman, “Who Is Balendra Shah, the Rapper On Track to Become Nepal’s Next Prime Minister”, in TIME, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2026
match; a game between two sides.
- But they ran out of time and inspiration as Les Bleus set up a deserved semi-final clash with Wales.2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France
An angry argument.
Opposition; contradiction; such as between differing or contending interests, views, purposes etc.
- clash of beliefs
- culture clash
A combination of garments that do not look good together, especially because of conflicting colours.
- She was wearing a horrible clash of red and orange.
(hurling) An instance of restarting the game after a "dead ball", where it is dropped between two opposing players, who can fight for possession.
(Scotland) Chatter; gossip; idle talk.
(UK, dialectal, obsolete, possibly) A heavy fall (of rain); heavy rain.
- clay soils ploughed in Autumn must often meet with heavy clashes of rain before frost: therefore , those salutary effects, expected to be derived from a frosty Winter, must often be frustrated, by the land being too much condensed by the rains before the frost comes on.1802, The Farmer's Magazine: A Periodical Work, Exclusively Devoted to Agriculture, and Rural Affairs ..., page 172
- T' taties offer't ta be a grand crop et forend, bet then seea mitch clash an caald wes again em, an thaev tean up varra smo, […]1887, Thomas Clarke, Specimens of the dialects of Westmorland, by T. Clarke, page 39
Synonyms:

blash

Verb

clash (third-person singular simple present clashes, present participle clashing, simple past and past participle clashed)

(intransitive) To make a clashing sound.
- The cymbals clashed.
(transitive) To cause to make a clashing sound.
- Thorfinn clashed his shield against Vallon's and swung his axe to hook Vallon's ankle.2012, Robert Lyndon, Hawk Quest
(intransitive) To come into violent conflict.
- Fans from opposing teams clashed on the streets after the game.
Synonyms:

collide
(intransitive) To argue angrily.
- My parents often clashed about minor things, such as the cleaning or shopping rota.
(intransitive) To face each other in an important game.
- The veteran American legend claims he and Welsh two-weight world champion Calzaghe will clash on 20 September, probably at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas.2008 June 27, “Jones confirms Calzaghe showdown”, in BBC Sport
(intransitive, decor, colours) To fail to look good together; to contrast unattractively; to fail to harmonize.
- You can't wear that shirt! It clashes with your trousers.
- The hotel room was ugly, and the wallpaper clashed with the carpet.
(intransitive) To coincide, to happen at the same time, thereby rendering it impossible to attend all.
- I can't come to your wedding because it clashes with a friend's funeral.
- I wanted to take German, but it clashed with art on the timetable.
(Scotland, intransitive) To chatter or gossip.
(intransitive, slang) To play Clash Royale or Clash of Clans.
- Dude, are we clashing tonight?
- Let's clash before bedtime.

clash meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

clash in Hindi

skirmish: टकराव ṭakrāv, भिड़ंत bhiṛant

clash in Tamil

கைகலப்பு, சச்சரவு, முரண்பாடு, மோதல், மோது, மோதுதல்

clash in Urdu

to clash: اختلاف کرنا ixtilāf karnā
clash, dispute: مقابلہ muqābla
to clash, quarrel: اڑنا aṛnā

clash in Bengali

clash, fight: পাঙ্গা paṅga
clash: দ্বন্দ্ব donddo

More languagesFewer languages

clash in Malayalam: കലഹിക്കുക kalahikkuka, ഉടക്കുക uṭakkuka
clash in Kannada: ಸಂಘರ್ಷಣ, ಹೊಡೆದಾಟ, ವಿರೋಧ, ಘರ್ಷಣೆ
clash in Punjabi: ਟਕਰਾਉਣ ਲਈ, ਟਕਰਾਅ ਕਰਨਾ
clash in Gujarati: અથડામણ, અથડામણ કરવી
clash in Nepali: भिडन्त
clash in Arabic: تَصَادُم taṣādum, يتصادم
clash in Persian: برخورد

Examples of clash in a sentence

There are fears of another war between Hezbollah and Israel as border clashes continue.
The dusky rose was of a muted color, not clashing with any of the other colors.
Lisa always wore shorts and a T-shirt, which clashed drastically with her brother's thick winter coat.

All 40 example sentences with clash

Synonyms of clash

Forms of clash

Noun
plural	clashes
Verb
third-person singular present	clashes
present participle	clashing
past participle	clashed
past	clashed

Past tense of clash: clashed

Plural of clash: clashes

Origin of clash

Of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Saterland Frisian klatskje (“to smack, slap”), West Frisian kletse, kletskje, Dutch kletsen (“to smack, slap, clash”), German Low German klattsen, klatsken (“to smack, splash”), German klatschen (“to clap, smack, slap”) and Klatsch (“a clapping sound; the din resulting from two or more things colliding”), Danish klaske (“to clash, splatter”).

Words formed from clash

Phrases with clash

Words that rhyme with clash

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about clash

What does clash mean?: Clash means a loud sound, like the crashing together of metal objects; a crash.
What is clash in Hindi?: Clash in Hindi is टकराव (ṭakrāv), भिड़ंत (bhiṛant). See Clash meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is clash?: Clash can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce clash?: Clash is pronounced /ˈklæʃ/ (UK).
What is the plural of clash?: The plural of clash is clashes.

Words near clash in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: clash (page history and authors); clash (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); اختلاف کرنا (Urdu) (page history and authors); দ্বন্দ্ব (Bengali) (page history and authors); ഉടക്കുക (Malayalam) (page history and authors); clash (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); clash (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); clash (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); clash (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-clash.ogg.

Cite this entry: “clash.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/clash. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.