CLAIM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does claim mean? 

• CLAIM (noun)
  The noun CLAIM has 6 senses:

1. an assertion of a right (as to money or property)

2. an assertion that something is true or factual

3. demand for something as rightful or due

4. an informal right to something

5. an established or recognized right

6. a demand especially in the phrase

  Familiarity information: CLAIM used as a noun is common.

• CLAIM (verb)
  The verb CLAIM has 5 senses:

1. assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing

2. demand as being one's due or property; assert one's right or title to

3. ask for legally or make a legal claim to, as of debts, for example

4. lay claim to; as of an idea

5. take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs

  Familiarity information: CLAIM used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CLAIM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An assertion of a right (as to money or property)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

his claim asked for damages

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

assertion; asseveration; averment (a declaration that is made emphatically (as if no supporting evidence were necessary))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "claim"):

cause of action (a claim sufficient to demand judicial attention; the facts that give rise to right of action)

dibs (a claim of rights)

pretension (the advancing of a claim)

Derivation:

claim (demand as being one's due or property; assert one's right or title to)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An assertion that something is true or factual

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

evidence contradicted the government's claims

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

assertion; asseveration; averment (a declaration that is made emphatically (as if no supporting evidence were necessary))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "claim"):

allegation; allegement (statements affirming or denying certain matters of fact that you are prepared to prove)

Derivation:

claim (assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Demand for something as rightful or due

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

they struck in support of their claim for a shorter work day

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

demand (the act of demanding)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "claim"):

insurance claim (demand for payment in accordance with an insurance policy)

Derivation:

claim (ask for legally or make a legal claim to, as of debts, for example)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An informal right to something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

claim; title

Context example:

his title to fame

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

right (an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature)

Derivation:

claim (lay claim to; as of an idea)

claim (ask for legally or make a legal claim to, as of debts, for example)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An established or recognized right

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

claim; title

Context example:

he staked his claim

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

legal right (a right based in law)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "claim"):

entitlement (right granted by law or contract (especially a right to benefits))

Sense 6

Meaning:

A demand especially in the phrase

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

call; claim

Context example:

the call of duty

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

demand (an urgent or peremptory request)

• CLAIM (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they claim    ... he / she / it claims   
Past simple: claimed   
Past participle: claimed   
-ing form: claiming   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

He claimed that he killed the burglar

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

affirm (say yes to)

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

purport (have the often specious appearance of being, intending, or claiming)

charge (make an accusatory claim)

profess (practice as a profession, teach, or claim to be knowledgeable about)

make out (try to establish)

contend; postulate (maintain or assert)

pretend; profess (state insincerely)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They claim to move

Antonym:

disclaim (make a disclaimer about)

Derivation:

claim (an assertion that something is true or factual)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Demand as being one's due or property; assert one's right or title to

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

arrogate; claim; lay claim

Context example:

Mr. Smith claims special tax exemptions because he is a foreign resident

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

ask for; bespeak; call for; quest; request (express the need or desire for)

Verb group:

claim; take (lay claim to; as of an idea)

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

pretend (put forward a claim and assert right or possession of)

requisition (demand and take for use or service, especially by military or public authority for public service)

arrogate; assign (make undue claims to having)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Antonym:

forfeit (lose (s.th.) or lose the right to (s.th.) by some error, offense, or crime)

Derivation:

claim (an assertion of a right (as to money or property))

claimant (someone who claims a benefit or right or title)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Ask for legally or make a legal claim to, as of debts, for example

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

They claimed on the maximum allowable amount

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

ask for; bespeak; call for; quest; request (express the need or desire for)

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

demand; exact (claim as due or just)

counterclaim (set up a claim in opposition to a previous claim)

demand (lay legal claim to)

Sentence frames:

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

Derivation:

claim (demand for something as rightful or due)

claim (an informal right to something)

claimant (someone who claims a benefit or right or title)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Lay claim to; as of an idea

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

claim; take

Context example:

She took credit for the whole idea

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

affirm; assert; aver; avow; swan; swear; verify (to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true)

Verb group:

arrogate; claim; lay claim (demand as being one's due or property; assert one's right or title to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Antonym:

disclaim (renounce a legal claim or title to)

Derivation:

claim (an informal right to something)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

claim; exact; take

Context example:

The hard work took its toll on her

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

ask; call for; demand; involve; necessitate; need; postulate; require; take (require as useful, just, or proper)

Verb group:

ask; call for; demand; involve; necessitate; need; postulate; require; take (require as useful, just, or proper)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

Inconsistency or lack of agreement between data, facts, claims, or opinions.

(Disagreement, NCI Thesaurus)

He thought of everybody's claims and strivings, but his own.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Besides, that publishing firm did not own a magazine wherewith to make its claim less modest.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The claims that CAM treatment providers make can sound promising.

(Complementary and Alternative Medicine, NIH: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

Pardon me, dear cousin, you are unjust in your own claims.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

It has been claimed to remove toxins from the body, make the immune system stronger, relieve pain, control diabetes, treat AIDS, reduce tumor size, increase cancer survival, and improve quality of life.

(Essiac, NCI Dictionary)

For NDAs, ANDAs, and BLAs, this represents an application to modify the current indications or claims for a use for which the application was previously approved/licensed.

(Efficacy Supplement, Food and Drug Administration)

It is claimed to treat infertility and to lessen symptoms that may occur before or during a woman’s menstrual period, such as headaches and irregular bleeding.

(Chaste tree berry, NCI Dictionary)

Their study claimed KRACK affects every modern device using Wi-Fi; it can be fixed by a software update.

(Digital security researchers publicly reveal vulnerability in WPA2 WiFi protocol, Wikinews)

Researchers claim to have found a particular type of cancer cell that is more dangerous than others, and it might be at the origin of how cancer spreads and grows.

(‘Energetic Cancer Cells’ May Be Origin of Cancer Spread, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)