clingcling /klɪŋ/ ●●○ verb (past tense and past participle clung /klʌŋ/) [intransitive] 
He wailed and clung to his mother. Passengers clung desperately on to the lifeboats.2[always + adverb/preposition] to stick to someone or something, or seem to surround themcling to/around etc His wet shirt clung to his body. The smell of cigarette smoke clung to her clothes.3to stay close to someone all the time because you are too dependent on them or do not feel safe – used to show disapproval: Some children tend to cling on their first day at school.cling on phrasal verb to continue trying to stay in power, in business etc: Other businesses cling on and hope.cling to something (also cling on to something) phrasal verb1to continue to believe or do something, even though it may not be true or useful any longercling to the hope/belief/idea etc (that) He clung to the hope that she would be cured.2to stay in a position of power or stay ahead, when this is difficult, or to try to do this: an attempt to cling to power
WORD ORIGINcling
Origin:
Old English clinganVERB TABLE
cling
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | cling |
| he, she, it | clings | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | clung |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have clung |
| he, she, it | has clung | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had clung |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will cling |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have clung |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am clinging |
| he, she, it | is clinging | |
| you, we, they | are clinging | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was clinging |
| you, we, they | were clinging | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been clinging |
| he, she, it | has been clinging | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been clinging |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be clinging |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been clinging |
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- A customary error committed by aquarists is to cling to the opinion that the Aponogeton species do not require a rich soil.
- Denial, too, seemed to be an effort to cling to hope.
- His pink shirt clinging to the curve of his belly.
- She flung out her arms to steady herself, clinging to him.
- She was lying on her side and Hugh was on his side also, clinging to her back, as though for protection.
- Why cling to the rebel cross?
Longman Language Activatorto hold something tightly
to put your hand around something and hold it tightly, in order to stop yourself from falling or from losing what you are holding: · We're coming up to a bumpy bit - you'd better hold on!· Just hang on as best you can and I'll try and get some help.hold/hang on to something: · Mother's not strong. She can't walk without holding on to someone's arm.· People stood hanging on to the overhead straps of the swaying subway car.hold on tight: · As the roller coaster turned upside down I shut my eyes and held on tight.· He inched across the roof, hanging on as best he could.
to hold something tightly, by pressing your fingers very hard against it: · David suddenly gripped my arm and pulled me away from the road.· His knuckles whitened as he gripped the microphone.· She found his hand and gripped it tightly.
to hold something tightly, closing your fingers around it: · "Ah!'' he cried, clutching his stomach.· A group of tourists stood clutching their phrase books.· A little girl stood clasping her mother's hand.· Sally ran out of the house, clasping her schoolbooks to her chest.
to hold on to someone or something very tightly for comfort or support: · The baby monkey clings to its mother's back until it can climb by itself.· Many children will cling to a soft blanket or toy as a substitute for their mother at night.· Rescue workers saved a 9-year-old boy who was clinging to rocks after he was swept into the ocean by the tide.
to hope for something even when it is unlikely to continue to hope very much that something is true or will happen, even when you know it is extremely unlikely: · Daniel waited all day, hoping against hope that Annie would change her mind and come back.· James was still clinging to the hope that Jo might have made a mistake.
spoken also build up your hopes British to get excited because you hope something will happen, usually when you are later disappointed because it does not: · I would have told you about this earlier, but I didn't want to get your hopes up.· I may be able to arrange something, but please don't get your hopes up.
informal if you do something on the off chance that another thing will happen, you do it because you hope the other thing will happen, even though it seems unlikely: · They got to the man as quickly as they could, on the off chance that he was still alive, but he was not.
to stay very near to someone or something: stay close/keep close to · While the eggs are hatching the mother bird stays close to the nest.stay close/keep close together · Once we're inside the cave, we must all keep close together. We don't want anyone to get lost.
if someone, especially a child, clings to you, they stay close to you all the time, especially because they lack confidence and depend on you too much: · It's quite common for a child to cling to his or her mother on the first day at school.· One of the girls was clinging to me all night at the disco. I just couldn't get rid of her.
to stay very close to the edge or surface of something, especially while moving along it: · The new road will stretch from Barcelona to the Adriatic, hugging the Mediterranean coast.· A row of tiny feeding fish were hugging the rock surface where I stood.· After Dunseverik, the path hugs the clifftop near Brebane Head.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY He clung to the hope that she would be cured.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1[always + adverb/preposition] to hold someone or something tightly, especially because you do not feel safecling to/on/at etc He clung to the hope that she would be cured. (=keep hoping that something will happen, even though it seems unlikely)· They clung to the hope that one day a cure would be found.
(=continue to believe that something is good or right even when it does not seem to be like this in real life)· He is a man who still clings to ideals of loyalty and friendship.
(=try to stay alive, even though you are very ill or injured)· She clung to life, despite the pain.
(=not lose it, or try not to lose it)· Mao Tse-tung, the leader of the 1949 Communist revolution, clung to power for 27 years.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· She was clinging desperately to the hang-glider.· These few will desperately cling to traditional structures and culture.· She was clinging desperately to normality and self-respect.· She drew him close, clinging desperately.· The stairs have become rope ladders, with managers clinging desperately for balance.· The faith that something would and must be done to save the city was desperately clung to....· On the other were tenants clinging desperately to the last vestige of their community.· As I rode a high wave I saw a small boy desperately clinging to a piece of board.
· Mr Harrison was slashed across the chest three times and stabbed, yet he clung on, trying to overpower the attacker.· We can not become different beings by clinging on to our personalities as they were formerly.· But then generals have not lost hope altogether of clinging on to power.· Loi grabbed with both hands for a crossbar and clung on.· Shares will boom and John Major will cling on by his fingertips.· I clung on, raging inside at Feeley.· Would she scream insults, or perhaps cling on to him for grim death and beg for another chance?· I clung on to Hugh, the best on-stage partner I'd known.
· Whatever we do, they will still cling to their barbaric customs.· Nevertheless, many people still cling to the vinyl disk as preferable.· An astonished officer found him still clinging grimly to the controls as he trundled along at a snail's pace.· Over east the yellow sun brimmed while along the western horizon the purple lip of night still clung.· The woman in the blue raincoat fell to her knees, still clinging with one hand to the push-chair.· At the time of the preliminary hearing in February, Maria was still clinging to life.· Slowly but surely Carter are on the move again, still pertinent and still clinging to the plot.· At some level they still cling to the idea that tender loving care is the only factor in raising kids.
· This wonderful diverse stretch of woodland clings tenaciously to the almost precipitous sides of the gorge.· Parliament has, however, attempted to cling tenaciously to its role in the scrutiny of the implementation of that policy.· All that has once lived clings tenaciously to life.· Nevertheless, the modern law of contracts tenaciously clings to the liberal ideal of individual autonomy.
· And then towards the end of his life when he was already ill, he had one last hope to cling to.· Even the most dismal and unstable circumstances can become something to be clung to.· He was slipping, the door he clung to was swaying, and the debris below was anticipating.· It is a terrible thing to be clung to by a sick child if you are not used to it.· At least we have one consolation to cling to.· There were great rocks on the road and thin mist seemed to cling to everywhere.· Well ... the thing to cling to is that everything like this is still decentralised.· Now it seemed there was nothing at all to cling to.
· A great noise rises out of the quiet, and the stars are like bits of metal clinging together.· We clung together for warmth and vowed to love one another more than anyone else for all time.· We clung together, breathless, until we had to pause for breath.· One minute they were sworn enemies, the next they were clinging together in fierce mutual desire.· As they clung together in that unutterable pleasure, he felt that they were defying everything that had persecuted them.
NOUN· Nina watched as Carys, clinging to the arms of her Sam, face radiant with relief, disappeared into her house.· She clung to Jacob's arm, saw him spirited away on a tide of compliments.· Candace Rainford was clinging to his arm and he did not look as if he minded in the slightest.· Dieter Erdle had just arrived with Rose Kettle clinging to his arm.
· Ursula was clinging to the belief that Samantha would soon be released.· Reagan clung to the belief that he was not paying ransom but merely rewarding an intermediary for services rendered.
· To call the bit of silk that clung to her body a dress was ridiculous.· She sat rigidly in her seat, her clothes clinging wetly to her body, and waited for him to retaliate.
· The woman in the blue raincoat fell to her knees, still clinging with one hand to the push-chair.· I clung to her hand, offering her a mooring line in that churning sea of grief.· John came down the stairs with Ben, who clung to his hand.· All he saw as he glanced at her was his little wife, shy as a fieldmouse, clinging to his hand.· The way the pastry mixture clung to your hands if you mixed it with too much water.· Joan saw a little girl of eight or nine years, eyeing her alertly and clinging to David's hand.· A little mud clings to the infant hand but otherwise it is perfect.· They could not get the strap she was clinging to out of her hand.
· She had clung to the hope even for that length of time, but it had never happened.· Last night both men were clinging to the vain hope of salvaging their jobs and refused to comment before today's hearing.
· Times were not good, we had basically clung to outdated ideas and we were on the verge of closing.· She further offended doctors by clinging to patently wrong ideas.· They could, with one part of their mind, cling to the idea of teacher autonomy.· Will the West cling to the idea of universal worth while selfishly consuming Arab oil wealth and closing its borders to Arabs?· For the moment I cling to the idea that there are a relatively small number of cell-to-cell signals.· At some level they still cling to the idea that tender loving care is the only factor in raising kids.· All men go through life clinging to an idea of an earthly paradise.
· This wasn't easy either, because she was spooked and was clinging for dear life to the poor kid's hair.· Converse lay clinging to earth and life, his mouth full of sweet grass.· She still clung to life by some unknown strength of character and Fon loved her for it.· How she had clung to life in the last ten years.· Although appearing to be clinging precariously to life, once introduced to the pool they quickly produce roots and become established.· In such a state only a coward clings to life.· It turns on to its side and as I cling on for dear life I hear a startled cry from Nathan.· Luckily, he landed on some rocks, where he clung for his life.
· Now, suddenly, those who clung to these notions were thrown on to the defensive and soon outnumbered.· The chain made up an organization that was clinging to an outmoded notion of its own uniqueness.
· But then generals have not lost hope altogether of clinging on to power.· Like Mao before him, Deng doggedly clung to power, despite becoming less mentally sharp in his final years.· Only a month ago, Mr Major gave the impression of clinging to power.· He clings to power largely because his Sunni-dominated army is afraid of the revenge that would befall it if he fell.
· The alarm was raised by a passer-by who heard one of the youngsters, clinging to rocks, shouting for help.· These cling to rocks, stones, or roots and forms a mat of bright to deep green tufts.
· I ran across the road and jumped up, clinging to the side of the phaeton.· The batter must be able to cling to the side of the pan.· Onward and upward the track wound, clinging to the side of the ridge like a pale slippery centipede.· I cling to her; my sister, Beate, clings to her other side.· The atmosphere of grey repression that clung to the eastern side of the city is being purged at an astonishing speed.· A flame roared under a black bucket, clean blue like a blowtorch clinging to one side.· He clung to the sides of the basket with all his strength and tried not to look down.
· But the only thing there was a fragile gecko, which clung splay-footed to the wall and watched me with cloudy eyes.· The traditionalists who cling to uptight Wall Street business wardrobes and rooms full of Hepplewhite reproductions are exiled to style Siberia.· Well-thumbed magazine pictures of body-builders cling to the wall.· Balconies cling to walls like frightened climbers.· Even the drainpipes, clinging half-heartedly to cracked walls and rusty gutters, looked as if they'd had enough.· But it was his left hand that collided with something in the dark, an object that was clinging to the wall.
He wailed and clung to his mother. Passengers clung desperately on to the lifeboats.2[always + adverb/preposition] to stick to someone or something, or seem to surround themcling to/around etc His wet shirt clung to his body. The smell of cigarette smoke clung to her clothes.3to stay close to someone all the time because you are too dependent on them or do not feel safe – used to show disapproval: Some children tend to cling on their first day at school.cling on phrasal verb to continue trying to stay in power, in business etc: Other businesses cling on and hope.cling to something (also cling on to something) phrasal verb1to continue to believe or do something, even though it may not be true or useful any longercling to the hope/belief/idea etc (that) He clung to the hope that she would be cured.2to stay in a position of power or stay ahead, when this is difficult, or to try to do this: an attempt to cling to power