clausenoun [ C ]
uk/klɔːz/us/klɑːz/clause noun [ C ] (LEGAL DOCUMENT)
law a particular part of a written legal document, for example a law passed by Parliament or a contract (= an agreement):
They have added/deleted/amended a clause in the contract which says the company can make people redundant for economic reasons.
Clause 4 of the constitution is thought to be the most important section.
More examples
- There was a penalty clause which said you had to pay half the cost if you cancelled your booking.
- The clause was added to the contract at Carlos's request .
- He pointed to the clause about payment.
clause noun [ C ] (GRAMMAR)
B2 specialized language a group of words, consisting of a subject and a finite form of a verb:
In the sentence "I can't cook very well but I make quite good pancakes", both "I can't cook very well" and "I make good pancakes" are main/independent clauses (= they are of equal importance and could each exist as a separate sentence).
In the sentence "I'll get you some stamps if I go to town", "if I go to town" is a subordinate/dependent clause (= it is not as important as the main part of the sentence and could not exist as a separate sentence).
More examples
- In the sentence 'The woman who I met was wearing a brown hat', 'who I met' is a relative clause.
- The sentence 'Although he's quiet, he's not shy' begins with a concessive clause.
- A sentence might consist of a main clause and a subordinate clause, linked by a conjunction.
- In English, a conditional clause usually begins with 'if'.
- Students learn how to identify different clauses within a complex sentence.
- In the sentence 'The woman who I met was wearing a brown hat', 'who I met' is a relative clause.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: sentences & expressions
- anagram
- cliché
- cliché-ridden
- coin
- compound sentence
- concessive clause
- declarative sentence
- expression
- figure of speech
- fronting
- mission statement
- nugget
- phrasing
- proverb
- refrain
- relative clause
- simple sentence
- tail
- the operative word idiom
- war cry
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