Library / English Dictionary

CLING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: clung   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fruit (especially peach) whose flesh adheres strongly to the pit

Synonyms:

cling; clingstone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("cling" is a kind of...):

edible fruit (edible reproductive body of a seed plant especially one having sweet flesh)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hold on tightly or tenaciously

Example:

The child clung to his mother's apron

Synonyms:

cling; hang

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "cling" is one way to...):

grasp; hold on (hold firmly)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation

Example:

The sushi rice grains cohere

Synonyms:

adhere; cleave; cling; cohere; stick

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "cling" is one way to...):

adjoin; contact; meet; touch (be in direct physical contact with; make contact)

"Cling" entails doing...:

attach (become attached)

Verb group:

adhere; bind; bond; hold fast; stick; stick to (stick to firmly)

stick (fasten with an adhesive material like glue)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "cling"):

mold (fit tightly, follow the contours of)

conglutinate (stick together)

agglutinate (clump together; as of bacteria, red blood cells, etc.)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 3

Meaning:

To remain emotionally or intellectually attached

Example:

He clings to the idea that she might still love him.

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

She clung to his arm through the dim-lighted passages and down the narrow stairs.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The Indian looked up at him, and then, with a little yelp, cringed to the ground and clung to Lord John's leg.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Fanny's friendship was all that he had to cling to.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

With a kick and a blow he freed himself from two others who clung to him, and in a moment he was within the portal with his comrades.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I clung with both hands till my nails ached, and I shut my eyes as if to cover up the peril.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Ah, poor old chap, he clings to any straw!

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I tried to throw her off, but she clung to me most desperately.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then she slept again, and the girls waited upon their mother, for she would not unclasp the thin hand which clung to hers even in sleep.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

To protect themselves during this time, they congregate into masses that hang from tree branches—these clusters are made entirely of bees, each clinging to one another.

(Bees Help Researchers Confirm Theory about Maintaining Protective Clumps under Tough Conditions, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Suddenly, they saw its back end drop down, as into a rut, and the gee-pole, with Hal clinging to it, jerk into the air.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)