clew

/kluː/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

obsolete/kljuː/

clew noun: a roughly spherical mass or body. Also the archaic spelling of clue.

Noun

clew (plural clews)

(obsolete) A roughly spherical mass or body.
- If the whole troupe be diuided into many clewes, or round bunches, you need not then doubt but that there are many kings.c. 1600, Charles Estienne and Jean Liebault, tr. Richard Surflet, Maison Rustique, or, The Countrie Farme
- Both theſe creatures [the "ai" (aye-aye?) and "unan"], by forming themſelves in a clew, have often more the appearance of excreſcences in the bark, than that of animals.1796, J[ohn] G[abriel] Stedman, chapter VII, in Narrative of a Five Years’ Expedition against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam, in Guiana, on the Wild Coast of South America; […], volume I, London...
(archaic) A ball of thread or yarn.
- [O]nely ſinne
  And helliſh obſtinacie tye thy tongue
  That truth ſhould be ſuſpected, ſpeake, iſ't ſo?
  If it be ſo, you haue wound a goodly clewe:
  If it be not, forſweare't how ere I charge thee,
  As heauen ſhall work in me for thine auaile
  To tell me truelie.c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- A rare, precious, and never interrupted race of philosophers to whom wisdom, like another Ariadne, seems to have given a clew of thread which they have been walking along unwinding since the beginning of the world, through the labyrinth of human affairs.1831, Victor Hugo, translated by Isabel Florence Hapgood, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Yarn or thread as used to guide one's way through a maze or labyrinth; a guide, a clue.
The lower corner(s) of a sail to which a sheet is attached for trimming the sail (adjusting its position relative to the wind); the metal loop or cringle in the corner of the sail, to which the sheet is attached. (on a triangular sail) The trailing corner relative to the wind direction.
- 'Mid the rattle of blocks and the tramp of the crew,
  Hisses the rain of the rushing squall;
  The sails are aback from clew to clew,
  And now is the moment for "MAINSAIL, HAUL!"1858, Walter Mitchell, Tacking Ship Off Shore
- "Clew" is Saxon; "garnet" (from granato, a fruit) is Italian,—that is, the garnet- or pomegranate-shaped block fastened to the clew or corner of the courses, and hence the rope running through the block.1858, The Atlantic Monthly, "The Language of the Sea"
(in plural) The sheets so attached to a sail.
- The canvas running up in a proud sweep,
  Wind-wrinkled at the clews, and white like lint,1913, John Masefield, Dauber
(in plural) The cords suspending a hammock.
- He taught us how to attach the clews to the ends of the hammock and then lash it between jack stays.2000, Ralph W Danklefsen, The Navy I Remember, Xlibris, page 21

Verb

clew (third-person singular simple present clews, present participle clewing, simple past and past participle clewed)

(transitive) to roll into a ball
(intransitive, transitive) to raise the lower corner(s) of (a sail)

Also used as

clew is also the archaic spelling of clue.

clew meaning in Punjabi

clew in Punjabi

ball of thread: ਪਿੰਨਾ pinnā

Examples of clew in a sentence

The Fairy Paribanou was at that time very hard at work, and, as she had several clews of thread by her, she took up one, and, presenting it to Prince Ahmed, said: "First take this clew of thread...1889, Andrew Lang, “The story of Prince Ahmed and the fairy Paribanou”, in The Blue Fairy Book:
I went over and asked him to let down the clews or corners of the mainsail, which had been drawn up in order to lessen the useless flapping of the sail against the rigging.1894, James Hudson Taylor, A Retrospect:
Loosen the bunt of the mizzen-trysail and haul at the clew.1901, John Conroy Hutcheson, The Ghost Ship:
Unfurl the sail and attach the clew to the hook attached to the outhaul line.(Can we date this quote?), “Pico Rigging Instructions”, in California State University, Sacramento, page 1:

Forms of clew

Noun
plural	clews
Verb
third-person singular present	clews
present participle	clewing
past participle	clewed
past	clewed

Origin of clew

From Middle English clew, clewe, clowe, clue, clwe, clyw, clywe, from Old English clēowen, clīewen, clīowen, clīwen, clȳwe, clȳwen (“ball, sphere; skein”), from Proto-Germanic *kliuwiną, *klewô (“bale, ball, clump, mass”), from Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to ball up, clump together; lump, swelling”). Akin to Old English clǣġ (“clay”). Doublet of knawel. Cognates Cognate with Cimbrian khnaul (“ball of yarn”), Dutch kluwe, kluwen (“ball thread or yarn, clew”), German Knäuel (“ballyarn; tangle”), Norwegian Nynorsk kljå (“a loom weight”); also Sanskrit ग्लौ (glau, “the moon; camphor; the earth”).

Words formed from clew

Phrases with clew

Words that rhyme with clew

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about clew

What does clew mean?: Clew means a roughly spherical mass or body.
What is clew in Punjabi?: Clew in Punjabi is ਪਿੰਨਾ (pinnā). See Clew meaning in Punjabi.
How do you use clew in a sentence?: The Fairy Paribanou was at that time very hard at work, and, as she had several clews of thread by her, she took up one, and, presenting it to Prince Ahmed, said: "First take this clew of thread...
What part of speech is clew?: Clew can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce clew?: Clew is pronounced /kluː/.
What is the plural of clew?: The plural of clew is clews.

Words near clew in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: clew (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: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-clue.ogg.

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