cliques

Noun

clique (plural cliques)

1. A small, exclusive group of individuals, usually having some common characteristic such as lifestyle or social status, or common purpose; specifically one formed for disreputable purposes, or which purports to be an authority on a particular matter; a cabal.
   • Near-synonyms: circle, faction, gang

   Synonyms:

   camp, coterie, inner circle, circle, faction, gang

2. (broadly) A subgraph isomorphic to a complete graph.
   • The problem of finding the largest clique in an arbitrary graph is NP-complete.

   Antonyms:

   independent set

3. (Internet, broadly) A group of related websites that link to each other, like a webring but with exclusive membership determined by the clique owner.
   • Does anyone know what an internet clique is/does? I came across a few and am thoroughly confused.1999 January 3, Jackie, “[S]omeone help me out?”, in alt.fan.leo-dicaprio (Usenet)
4. (China, broadly, historical) An informal faction in the Republic of China (1912–1949) led by one or more warlords exercising regional control through local armed forces (particularly during the Warlord Era); a regional junta.
   • In the South, too, due either to direct or indirect machinations by imperialism, there mushroomed many cliques and factions which fought against one another; in the provinces, small cliques and factions within big ones were also struggling against one another.1954, Tsjenn Po-ta [i.e., Chen Boda], chapter 2, in [anonymous], transl., Notes on Ten Years of Civil War (1927–1936), Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, →OCLC, page 42

See all 6 meanings of clique