2 → see also classify
clas|si|fied /klæ s I fa I d/ ADJ Classified information or documents are officially secret. □ He has a security clearance that allows him access to classified information.
cla s|si|fied a d (classified ads ) N‑COUNT Classified ads or classified advertisements are small advertisements in a newspaper or magazine. They are usually from a person or small company.
clas|si|fieds /klæ s I fa I dz/ N‑PLURAL The classifieds are the same as classified ad .
clas|si|fy /klæ s I fa I / (classifies , classifying , classified ) VERB To classify things means to divide them into groups or types so that things with similar characteristics are in the same group. □ [V n] It is necessary initially to classify the headaches into certain types. □ [V n + as ] The coroner immediately classified his death as a suicide. ● clas|si|fi|ca|tion /klæ s I f I ke I ʃ ə n/ (classifications ) N‑VAR □ …the British Board of Film Classification. □ …the arbitrary classification of knowledge into fields of study.
class|less /klɑː sləs, klæ s-/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] When politicians talk about a classless society, they mean a society in which people are not affected by social status. [APPROVAL ] □ …the new Prime Minister's vision of a classless society.
class|mate /klɑː sme I t, klæ s-/ (classmates ) N‑COUNT [oft poss N ] Your classmates are students who are in the same class as you at school or college.
class|room /klɑː sruːm, klæ s-/ (classrooms ) N‑COUNT A classroom is a room in a school where lessons take place.
classy /klɑː si, klæ si/ (classier , classiest ) ADJ If you describe someone or something as classy , you mean they are stylish and sophisticated. [INFORMAL ] □ The German star put in a classy performance.
clat|ter /klæ tə r / (clatters , clattering , clattered )
1 VERB If you say that people or things clatter somewhere, you mean that they move there noisily. □ [V prep/adv] He turned and clattered down the stairs.
2 VERB If something hard clatters , it makes repeated short noises as it hits against another hard thing. [LITERARY ] □ [V prep] She set her cup down, and it clattered against the saucer. ● N‑SING Clatter is also a noun. □ [+ of ] From somewhere distant he heard the clatter of a typewriter.
clause /klɔː z/ (clauses )
1 N‑COUNT A clause is a section of a legal document. □ He has a clause in his contract which entitles him to a percentage of the profits. □ …a complaint alleging a breach of clause 4 of the code.
2 N‑COUNT In grammar, a clause is a group of words containing a verb. Sentences contain one or more clauses. There are finite clauses and non-finite clauses.
3 → see also main clause , relative clause , subordinate clause
claus|tro|pho|bia /klɔː strəfoʊ biə/ N‑UNCOUNT Someone who suffers from claustrophobia feels very uncomfortable or anxious when they are in small or enclosed places.
claus|tro|pho|bic /klɔː strəfoʊ b I k/
1 ADJ You describe a place or situation as claustrophobic when it makes you feel uncomfortable and unhappy because you are enclosed or restricted. □ They lived in an unhealthily claustrophobic atmosphere. □ The house felt too claustrophobic.
2 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you feel claustrophobic , you feel very uncomfortable or anxious when you are in a small, crowded, or enclosed place. □ The churning, pressing crowds made her feel claustrophobic.
clavi|chord /klæ v I kɔː r d/ (clavichords ) N‑VAR A clavichord is a musical instrument rather like a small piano. When you press the keys, small pieces of metal come up and hit the strings. Clavichords were especially popular during the eighteenth century.
clavi|cle /klæ v I k ə l/ (clavicles ) N‑COUNT Your clavicles are your collar bones. [MEDICAL ]
claw /klɔː / (claws , clawing , clawed )
1 N‑COUNT [usu pl] The claws of a bird or animal are the thin, hard, curved nails at the end of its feet. □ The cat tried to cling to the edge by its claws.
2 N‑COUNT [usu pl] The claws of a lobster, crab, or scorpion are the two pointed parts at the end of its legs which are used for holding things.
3 VERB If an animal claws at something, it scratches or damages it with its claws. □ [V + at ] The wolf clawed at the tree and howled the whole night. [Also V n]
4 VERB To claw at something means to try very hard to get hold of it. □ [V + at ] His fingers clawed at Blake's wrist. [Also V n]
5 VERB If you claw your way somewhere, you move there with great difficulty, trying desperately to find things to hold on to. □ [V way prep/adv] Some did manage to claw their way up iron ladders to the safety of the upper deck.
▸ claw back
1 PHRASAL VERB If someone claws back some of the money or power they had lost, they get some of it back again. [BRIT ] □ [V P n] They will eventually be able to claw back all or most of the debt. [Also V n P ]
2 PHRASAL VERB If a government claws back money, it finds a way of taking money back from people that it gave money to in another way. [BRIT ] □ [V P n] The Chancellor will try to claw back £3.5 billion in next year's Budget. [Also V n P ]
clay /kle I / (clays )
1 N‑VAR [oft N n] Clay is a kind of earth that is soft when it is wet and hard when it is dry. Clay is shaped and baked to make things such as pots and bricks. □ …the heavy clay soils of Cambridgeshire. □ As the wheel turned, the potter shaped and squeezed the lump of clay into a graceful shape. □ …a little clay pot.