Word.ws English Dictionary

claves

UK/kleɪvz/US/ˈklɑˌveɪz/

claves noun: a percussion instrument, consisting of two sticks or blocks, in which one is struck against the other in order to produce a sound. Also the plural of clavis.

claves: a percussion instrument, consisting of two sticks or blocks, in which one is struck against the...
Image: CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

claves pl (normally plural, singular clave)

  1. (plural, plural-normally) A percussion instrument, consisting of two sticks or blocks, in which one is struck against the other in order to produce a sound.
    Synonyms:
    cleavers

Also used as

claves is also the plural of clavis.

claves is also the plural of clave.

claves is also the third-person singular simple present indicative of clave.

Synonyms of claves

Forms of claves

singularclave

Origin of claves

Borrowed from Latin American Spanish claves (plural), from Latin clāvis (“a key; a lever, bar”).

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Words that rhyme with claves

3 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about claves

What does claves mean?
Claves means a percussion instrument, consisting of two sticks or blocks, in which one is struck against the other in order to produce a sound.
What part of speech is claves?
Claves is a noun.
How do you pronounce claves?
Claves is pronounced /kleɪvz/ (UK).

Words near claves in the dictionary

  1. clavering
  2. Claverley
  3. Claverol
  4. clavers
  5. Claverton
  6. claves
  7. clavest
  8. Clavette
  9. Clavettes
  10. clavi
  11. claviature

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: claves (page history and authors). 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:

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