claim

[kleym] /kleɪm/
verb (used with object)
1.
to demand by or as by virtue of a right; demand as a right or as due:
to claim an estate by inheritance.
2.
to assert and demand the recognition of (a right, title, possession, etc.); assert one's right to:
to claim payment for services.
3.
to assert or maintain as a fact:
She claimed that he was telling the truth.
4.
to require as due or fitting:
to claim respect.
verb (used without object)
5.
to make or file a claim:
to claim for additional compensation.
noun
6.
a demand for something as due; an assertion of a right or an alleged right:
He made unreasonable claims on the doctor's time.
7.
an assertion of something as a fact:
He made no claims to originality.
8.
a right to claim or demand; a just title to something:
His claim to the heavyweight title is disputed.
9.
something that is claimed, especially a piece of public land for which formal request is made for mining or other purposes.
10.
a request or demand for payment in accordance with an insurance policy, a workers' compensation law, etc.:
We filed a claim for compensation from the company.
Idioms
11.
lay claim to, to declare oneself entitled to:
I have never laid claim to being an expert in tax laws.
Origin
1250-1300; (v.) Middle English claimen < Anglo-French, Old French claimer < Latin clāmāre to cry out; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French cla(i)me, noun derivative of the v.
Related forms
claimable, adjective
claimless, adjective
misclaim, verb (used with object)
nonclaimable, adjective
overclaim, verb (used with object)
preclaim, verb (used with object), noun
superclaim, noun
unclaimed, adjective
unclaiming, adjective
Synonyms
1. See demand. 6. request, requisition, call.
Examples from the web for claim
  • If there were jobs reserved for southpaws, thousands of academics would suddenly claim to be lifelong lefties.
  • The next day, dozens of farmers show up to claim their latest inducement.
  • The inventors claim all the laser parts came from inexpensive consumer electronics.
  • Now more than ten years later, the claim rings hollow.
  • Researchers cast doubt on that claim, and the story has been amended accordingly.
  • To claim a degree one did not earn is to sin against an entire system.
  • Such details apparently contributed to the claim that the blog post violated students' privacy.
  • They could copy and paste their partner's claim, for instance, into a box on the form.
  • But what interests me here is the descriptive claim about stress on the adverb.
  • Some record lecture audio, and claim to listen to them on their iPods.
British Dictionary definitions for claim

claim

/kleɪm/
verb (mainly transitive)
1.
to demand as being due or as one's property; assert one's title or right to: he claimed the record
2.
(takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to assert as a fact; maintain against denial: he claimed to be telling the truth
3.
to call for or need; deserve: this problem claims our attention
4.
to take: the accident claimed four lives
noun
5.
an assertion of a right; a demand for something as due
6.
an assertion of something as true, real, or factual: he made claims for his innocence
7.
a right or just title to something; basis for demand: a claim to fame
8.
lay claim to, stake a claim to, to assert one's possession of or right to
9.
anything that is claimed, esp in a formal or legal manner, such as a piece of land staked out by a miner
10.
(law) a document under seal, issued in the name of the Crown or a court, commanding the person to whom it is addressed to do or refrain from doing some specified act former name writ1
11.
  1. a demand for payment in connection with an insurance policy, etc
  2. the sum of money demanded
Derived Forms
claimable, adjective
claimer, noun
Word Origin
C13: from Old French claimer to call, appeal, from Latin clāmāre to shout
Word Origin and History for claim
v.

c.1300, "to call, call out; to ask or demand by virtue of right or authority," from accented stem of Old French clamer "to call, name, describe; claim; complain; declare," from Latin clamare "to cry out, shout, proclaim," from PIE *kele- (2) "to shout," imitative (cf. Sanskrit usakala "cock," literally "dawn-calling;" Latin calare "to announce solemnly, call out;" Middle Irish cailech "cock;" Greek kalein "to call," kelados "noise," kledon "report, fame;" Old High German halan "to call;" Old English hlowan "to low, make a noise like a cow;" Lithuanian kalba "language"). Related: Claimed; claiming.

Meaning "to maintain as true" is from 1864; specific sense "to make a claim" (on an insurance company) is from 1897. Claim properly should not stray too far from its true meaning of "to demand recognition of a right."

n.

early 14c., "a demand of a right; right of claiming," from Old French claime "claim, complaint," from clamer (see claim (v.)). Meaning "thing claimed or demanded" is from 1792; specifically "piece of land allotted and taken" (chiefly U.S. and Australia, in reference to mining) is from 1851. Insurance sense is from 1878.

Idioms and Phrases with claim

claim

In addition to the idiom beginning with
claim
also see: