- one of the sharp curved nails on the end of an animal’s or a bird’s foot
- The cat lashed out with its claws.
Extra ExamplesTopics Animalsc1, Birdsc1- The lion growled and showed its claws.
- The tiger dug its claws into his leg.
- a cat with sharp claws
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- razor-sharp
- sharp
- curved
- …
- sharpen
- dig
- sink
- …
- dig into something
- rake
- mark
- in somebody’s claws
- a long, sharp curved part of the body of some types of shellfish, used for catching and holding things
- the claws of a crab
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- razor-sharp
- sharp
- curved
- …
- sharpen
- dig
- sink
- …
- dig into something
- rake
- mark
- in somebody’s claws
- part of a tool or machine, like a claw, used for holding, pulling or lifting things see also claw hammer
Word OriginOld English clawu (noun), clawian (verb), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch klauw and German Klaue.
Idioms
See claw in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryget your claws into somebody (informal)
- (disapproving) to manage to get into a relationship with somebody in a way that gives you control over them
- She’s really got her claws into you!
- to criticize somebody severely
- Wait until the media gets its claws into her.
red in tooth and claw
- involving opposition or competition that is violent and without sympathy
- nature, red in tooth and claw
Check pronunciation:
claw