clique

Definition

A small, exclusive group of individuals, usually according to lifestyle or social status; a cabal.

Etymology

Borrowed from French clique, ultimately of imitative origin. Influenced by "claque", though this may have happened in French rather than in English.

Example Sentences

• "This school used to be really friendly, but now everyone keeps to their own cliques."
• "There had been talk of some disagreement about a picture, but in Sir Maxwell's experience, artists frequently disagreed about pictures, with no more consequences than a little cold-shouldering or the formation of a clique."
• "The problem of finding the largest clique in an arbitrary graph is NP-complete."

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