Clay is a kind of earth that is soft when it is wet and hard when it is dry. Clay is shaped and baked to make things such as pots and bricks.
...the heavy clay soils of Cambridgeshire.
As the wheel turned, the potter shaped and squeezed the lump of clay into a gracefulshape.
...a little clay pot.
2. uncountable noun [oft onNOUN, NOUN noun]
In tennis, matches played on clay are played on courts whose surface is covered with finely crushed stones or brick.
Most tennis is played on hard courts, but a substantial amount is played on clay.
He was a clay-court specialist who won Wimbledon five times.
3.
See feet of clay
clay in British English
(kleɪ)
noun
1.
a very fine-grained material that consists of hydrated aluminium silicate, quartz, and organic fragments and occurs as sedimentary rocks, soils, and other deposits. It becomes plastic when moist but hardens on heating and is used in the manufacture of bricks, cement, ceramics, etc
▶ Related adjective: figuline
2.
earth or mud in general
3. poetic
the material of the human body
verb
4. (transitive)
to cover or mix with clay
Derived forms
clayey (ˈclayey) or clayish (ˈclayish) or claylike (ˈclayˌlike)
adjective
Word origin
Old English clǣg; related to Old High German klīa, Norwegian kli, Latin glūs glue, Greek gloios sticky oil
Clay in British English
(kleɪ)
noun
1.
Cassius
Muhammad Ali
2.
Henry. 1777–1852, US statesman and orator; secretary of state (1825–29)
Clay in American English
(kleɪ)
Henry1777-1852; U.S. statesman & orator
clay in American English
(kleɪ)
noun
1.
a.
a firm, fine-grained earth, plastic when wet, composed chiefly of hydrous aluminum silicate minerals: it is produced by the chemical decomposition of rocks or the deposit of fine rock particles in water and is used in the manufacture of bricks, pottery, and other ceramics
b.
soil composed of mineral particles of very small size
2.
a.
earth, esp. as a symbol of the material of the human body
b.
the human body
Word origin
ME clei < OE clæg < IE base *glei-, to stick together > clammy, Ger klei, mud, L glus, glue
More idioms containing
clay
someone has feet of clay
Examples of 'clay' in a sentence
clay
They came on skewers set on a little clay dish containing alcohol.
The Sun (2014)
The dust was also mixed with clay to produce a finer quality brick.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The world can be a rough place for a clay pot.
Christianity Today (2000)
Some find it physically harder on clay.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We drew the patterns made by the curved braces and the shapes of the clay tiles.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The amount of clay covering the surface is also less than normal.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The soil can be anything from clay to sand or chalk.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It has remained the same since cuneiform was pressed into wet clay with a reed.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
He moulded ten clay pots on the theme.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We heard them tear at the air around our ears and smack into the clay brick and concrete.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They move into new ponds very quickly because they like the bare sand or clay at the bottom.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Until recently, the ground was bone dry and my heavy clay soil cracked wide open.
The Sun (2015)
The youngster runs as hard as he can, kicking up red clay dust from his heels.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They are not effective if you have heavy, cold clay soil.
The Sun (2006)
He has become so good on surfaces other than clay that he's a real threat anywhere.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He has also expressed firm views on a need for there to be more tennis played on clay to reduce injuries and a shortening of the season.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Her approach to working on a large scale is exciting, as is her ability to coax such sensuous and elegant shapes from clay.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There's a clay oven for cooking pizzas, plus cider in the fridge.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Two restaurants serve Moroccan dishes and there are two clay tennis courts and a good-sized pool.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Unusually for an Argentinian, he prefers hard courts over clay.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He erected a fortress of clay roofs, arched and open to the breezes, with ramparts of stone mixed with clay.
Charles Glass The Tribes Triumphant (2006)
Word lists with
clay
rock
In other languages
clay
British English: clay /kleɪ/ NOUN
Clay is a type of earth that is soft when it is wet and hard when it is baked dry.
He shaped and squeezed the lump of clay.
American English: clay
Arabic: صَلْصال
Brazilian Portuguese: argila
Chinese: 粘土
Croatian: glina
Czech: hlína hrnčířská
Danish: ler
Dutch: klei
European Spanish: arcilla
Finnish: savi
French: argile
German: Lehm
Greek: πηλός
Italian: argilla
Japanese: 粘土
Korean: 점토
Norwegian: leire
Polish: glina skała
European Portuguese: argila
Romanian: lut
Russian: глина
Latin American Spanish: arcilla
Swedish: lera
Thai: ดินเหนียว
Turkish: kil
Ukrainian: глина
Vietnamese: đất sét
All related terms of 'clay'
clay pipe
a pipe whose bowl is made of fired clay
clay pit
a pit or mine from which clay is extracted
clay road
an unsealed and unmetalled road in a rural area
pipe clay
a white, plastic clay used for making clay tobacco pipes or pottery , for whitening leather , etc.
red clay
clayey material colored red by iron oxide
china clay
a fine white clay used for the manufacture of hard-paste porcelain and bone china and in medicine as a poultice and gastrointestinal absorbent
clay court
a tennis court with a playing surface topped by a layer of crushed shale , brick , or stone
clay pigeon
Clay pigeons are discs of baked clay which are thrown into the air by a machine as targets for gun shooting practice .
quick clay
a water-saturated clay that changes rapidly to a fluid state when jarred or crushed , as by an earthquake or pile driver
boulder clay
an unstratified glacial deposit consisting of fine clay , boulders , and pebbles
clay mineral
any of a group of minerals consisting of hydrated aluminium silicates : the major constituents of clays
potter's clay
a clay that does not contain iron, suitable for making earthenware , stoneware , and porcelain
calcareous clay
soil with high limestone content
feet of clay
If you say that a person who is respected or admired has feet of clay or has clay feet , you mean that they have serious faults which you or other people did not know about before.
modelling clay
malleable clay which can be used to sculpt shapes and figures
porcelain clay
a fine white clay used for the manufacture of hard-paste porcelain and bone china and in medicine as a poultice and gastrointestinal absorbent
claypan
a layer of stiff impervious clay situated just below the surface of the ground, which holds water after heavy rain
clay-with-flints
a deposit of stiff clay containing unworn whole flints in the S England
clay-pigeon shooting
the activity of shooting clay pigeons
someone has feet of clay
said to mean that someone who is greatly admired or respected has serious faults or weaknesses which people generally do not know about