club

[kluhb] /klʌb/
noun
1.
a heavy stick, usually thicker at one end than at the other, suitable for use as a weapon; a cudgel.
2.
a group of persons organized for a social, literary, athletic, political, or other purpose:
They organized a computer club.
3.
the building or rooms occupied by such a group.
4.
an organization that offers its subscribers certain benefits, as discounts, bonuses, or interest, in return for regular purchases or payments:
a book club; a record club; a Christmas club.
5.
Sports.
  1. a stick or bat used to drive a ball in various games, as golf.
  2. Indian club.
6.
a nightclub or cabaret:
Last night we went to all the clubs in town.
7.
a black trefoil-shaped figure on a playing card.
8.
a card bearing such figures.
9.
clubs, (used with a singular or plural verb) the suit so marked:
Clubs is trump. Clubs are trump.
10.
club sandwich.
11.
Nautical.
  1. a short spar attached to the end of a gaff to allow the clew of a gaff topsail to extend beyond the peak of the gaff.
  2. a short spar attached to the truck of a mast to support the upper part of a club topsail.
  3. clubfoot (def 3).
verb (used with object), clubbed, clubbing.
12.
to beat with or as with a club.
13.
to gather or form into a clublike mass.
14.
to unite; combine; join together.
15.
to contribute as one's share toward a joint expense; make up by joint contribution (often followed by up or together):
They clubbed their dollars together to buy the expensive present.
16.
to defray by proportional shares.
17.
to hold (a rifle, shotgun, etc.) by the barrel, so as to use the stock as a club.
verb (used without object), clubbed, clubbing.
18.
to combine or join together, as for a common purpose.
19.
to attend a club or a club's activities.
20.
to gather into a mass.
21.
to contribute to a common fund.
22.
Nautical. to drift in a current with an anchor, usually rigged with a spring, dragging or dangling to reduce speed.
adjective
23.
of or pertaining to a club.
24.
consisting of a combination of foods offered at the price set on the menu:
They allow no substitutions on the club luncheon.
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English clubbe < Old Norse klubba club; akin to clump
Related forms
interclub, adjective
superclub, noun
Synonyms
1. bludgeon, billy. 2, 4. association, society. See circle. 12. bludgeon, batter, maul, cudgel.
Examples from the web for club
  • Truth is the club that knocks down and kills everybody.
  • The club that he had snapped from a tree, for a staff or for defense, was his own.
  • From the beach, the shag migrated inland and found fertile ground in country club and cotton crossroads alike.
  • Ben sold newspapers at the train station, then became a caddy at a nearby country club.
  • Suppose you've taken up the game of squash and want to play at a health club.
  • Including going into drama club and acting in school plays.
  • And a club you visited last night, plus financial stuff, plus medicines you take.
  • First you can tell when it is the fan club, or employees, that post by what they say.
  • For after-dark drama, sashay your way to a tango club.
  • Its founder hopes the club will add credibility to fledgling e-publishers.
British Dictionary definitions for club

club

/klʌb/
noun
1.
a stout stick, usually with one end thicker than the other, esp one used as a weapon
2.
a stick or bat used to strike the ball in various sports, esp golf See golf club (sense 1)
3.
short for Indian club
4.
a group or association of people with common aims or interests: a wine club
5.
  1. the room, building, or facilities used by such a group
  2. (in combination): clubhouse
6.
a building in which elected, fee-paying members go to meet, dine, read, etc
7.
a commercial establishment in which people can drink and dance; disco See also nightclub
8.
(mainly Brit) an organization, esp in a shop, set up as a means of saving
9.
(Brit) an informal word for friendly society
10.
  1. the black trefoil symbol on a playing card
  2. a card with one or more of these symbols or (when pl) the suit of cards so marked
11.
(nautical)
  1. a spar used for extending the clew of a gaff topsail beyond the peak of the gaff
  2. short for club foot (sense 3)
12.
(Brit, slang) in the club, pregnant
13.
(Brit, slang) on the club, away from work due to sickness, esp when receiving sickness benefit
verb clubs, clubbing, clubbed
14.
(transitive) to beat with or as if with a club
15.
(often foll by together) to gather or become gathered into a group
16.
(often foll by together) to unite or combine (resources, efforts, etc) for a common purpose
17.
(transitive) to use (a rifle or similar firearm) as a weapon by holding the barrel and hitting with the butt
18.
(intransitive) (nautical) to drift in a current, reducing speed by dragging anchor
Derived Forms
clubbing, noun
Word Origin
C13: from Old Norse klubba, related to Middle High German klumpe group of trees, clump, Old English clympre lump of metal
Word Origin and History for club
n.

c.1200, "thick stick used as a weapon," from Old Norse klubba "cudgel" or a similar Scandinavian source (cf. Swedish klubba, Danish klubbe), assimilated from Proto-Germanic *klumbon, related to clump (n.). Old English words for this were sagol, cycgel. Specific sense of "bat used in games" is from mid-15c.

The club suit in the deck of cards (1560s) bears the correct name (Spanish basto, Italian bastone), but the pattern adopted on English cards is the French trefoil. Cf. Danish klőver, Dutch klaver "a club at cards," literally "a clover."

The social club (1660s) apparently evolved from this word from the verbal sense "gather in a club-like mass" (1620s), then, as a noun, "association of people" (1640s).

We now use the word clubbe for a sodality in a tavern. [John Aubrey, 1659]


Admission to membership of clubs is commonly by ballot. Clubs are now an important feature of social life in all large cities, many of them occupying large buildings containing reading-rooms, libraries, restaurants, etc. [Century Dictionary, 1902]


I got a good mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it. [Rufus T. Firefly]
Club sandwich recorded by 1899, apparently as a type of sandwich served in clubs; club soda is 1877, originally a proprietary name.

v.

"to hit with a club," 1590s, from club (v.). Meaning "gather in a club-like mass" is from 1620s. Related: Clubbed; clubbing.

CLUB, verb (military). -- In manoeuvring troops, so to blunder the word of command that the soldiers get into a position from which they cannot extricate themselves by ordinary tactics. [Farmer & Henley]

Slang definitions & phrases for club

club

Related Terms

bottle club, deuce of clubs, key club, mile-high club, rap club, welcome to the club


Idioms and Phrases with club

club

see: join the club