Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A group of persons hired to applaud at a performance.
  • noun A group of fawning admirers.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In theaters, a set of men, called claqueurs, distributed through the audience, and hired to applaud the piece or the actors; the system of paid applause.
  • noun Hence Any band of admirers applauding and praising from interested motives.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A collection of persons employed to applaud at a theatrical exhibition.
  • noun a group of sycophantic followers.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A group of people hired to attend a performance and to either applaud or boo.
  • noun A group of people who pre-arrange among themselves to express strong support for an idea, so as to give the false impression of a wider consensus.
  • noun A group of fawning admirers.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a group of followers hired to applaud at a performance

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from claquer, to clap, of imitative origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French claquer ("to clap one's hands").

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Examples

  • At one public meeting open to all a 'claque' of Islamists urged the adoption of Sharia Law (the first time I heard mention of this name for the summary justice system of the theocrats).

    On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with... 2008

  • Oscar faced the American Philistine public without his accustomed "claque", and under these circumstances a half-success was evidence of considerable power.

    Oscar Wilde His Life and Confessions Harris, Frank 1910

  • In that sense Labour and its lickspittle claque of hangers-on has done us all a great service and has ensured that Mr. Wilders and his views get enormous publicity.

    Archive 2009-02-08 2009

  • I wonder if anyone else has noticed that whenever a black conservative voices an opinion, the liberal claque insists that he's not an authentic black, and when a white conservative voices an opinion, Obama's sycophants insist he's not an authentic American.

    Obama's true colors 2009

  • This claque of journalists and pundits rooted overtly for Bush's transfiguration which they seemed convinced was inevitable, if it wasn't already happening right before their eyes.

    George Bush's last second chance and the American refutation of the Book of Ecclesiastes 2009

  • In that sense Labour and its lickspittle claque of hangers-on has done us all a great service and has ensured that Mr. Wilders and his views get enormous publicity.

    The Home Secretary Is Also Stupid 2009

  • Is that crisis likely to go away after an emboldened army of the righteous (and well-financed claque of self-styled "economically responsible" free market boosters) won more nominal power?

    Danny Schechter: After the Election, What About the Economy? Danny Schechter 2010

  • 'Cracks' On the subject of reimagined history, there's a vicious little claque at the center of the period piece "Cracks," the curiosity from Jordan Scott daughter of Ridley, niece of Tony, which brings to mind both "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and "Lord of the Flies."

    'Win Win' 1, Sports Clichés 0 John Anderson 2011

  • His publishers have now thought it worthwhile to bring out Bolaño's very first published novel, The Skating Rink, hoping for a readership quite different from the tiny claque which greeted its first publication in 1993.

    The Skating Rink by Roberto Bolaño – review Philip Hensher 2010

  • I hesitate to use the word “claque,” but the guys are behind me all the way on this one, and the place erupts with a noise not heard since Jason Varitek stuffed his catcher's mitt in Alex Rodriguez's mug.

    My Poetic Nemesis Con Chapman 2011

Comments

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  • also colloquial for the tongue

    June 17, 2008

  • whattabuncha claquetty-claqueurs!

    June 1, 2009