clue

[kloo] /klu/

noun

anything that serves to guide or direct in the solution of a problem, mystery, etc.

clew (defs 1–4, 6, 12).

verb (used with object), clued, cluing.

to direct or point out by a clue.

clew (def 7).

Verb phrases

clue in,

to provide with useful or reliable information:
Clue us in on how these forms are to be filled out.
to make familiar or aware:
Has she been clued in about the rules of this office?

Origin

variant spelling of clew

Synonyms

1. sign, hint, trace, evidence, mark, key.

Examples from the web for clue

Maybe they will even get a hint of a clue about security.
Another way to clue an entry in cryptic crosswords is to call for an anagram of part of the clue itself.
They distract us mid-conversation and make us miss the critical clue in the mystery we're watching at the theater.
Much to his surprise, the shop-floor grunts often have no clue who he is.
Our digital nomad is checking in today with another photo clue.
Sugar is still pleasurable even when it isn't sweet-an important clue to the rise of obesity.
But you would not have a clue what she means from our popular culture.
The full video will presumably offer a clue to the film's still-perplexing plot.
The answer highlight indicates the current clue and the letter cells of its answer.
The thrill of uncovering the past is matched only by discovering a clue to the future.

British Dictionary definitions for clue

clue

/kluː/

noun

something that helps to solve a problem or unravel a mystery

not to have a clue

to be completely baffled
to be completely ignorant or incompetent

verb clues, cluing, clued

(transitive; usually foll by in or up) to provide with helpful information

noun, verb

a variant spelling of clew

Word Origin

C15: variant of clew

Word Origin and History for clue

1590s, spelling variant of clew "a ball of thread or yarn," in this sense with reference to the one Theseus used as a guide out of the Labyrinth. The purely figurative sense of "that which points the way" is from 1620s. As something which a bewildered person does not have, by 1948.

"to inform someone of the important facts," usually with in, 1934, from clue (n.). Related: Clued; cluing. Earlier in now-obsolete sense of "follow or track by clues" (1660s). In nautical use, "to haul up (a sail) by means of the clue-lines," from clue (n.) in the "wound ball of yarn" sense.

Slang definitions & phrases for clue

clue

v,v phr

(also clue in) To inform someone of pertinent facts; PUT someone IN THE PICTURE: I'll clue ya/ Neil Sheehan and I were terribly clued-in. We had a lock on that story (1940s+)