noun
clay
klay
noun
1
A fine-grained, sticky earth that becomes pliable when wet and hardens when fired or dried — used for pottery, bricks, and sculpture.
"She shaped the clay into a bowl on the wheel."
"The riverbank was thick with soft, red clay."
2
A tennis court surface made of crushed stone or brick.
"He's always played better on clay than on grass."
How to Use Clay
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA soft, moldable earth used for pottery and bricks, or (in tennis) the reddish crushed-stone court surface.
Common pairings
wet clay
clay pot
clay court
Word Forms
clayed past tense, clays plural, clays singular
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Etymology
From Old English clǣg, tracing back to a very old root meaning "to stick together" — the same root that eventually gave English the word "glue."