1 [mass noun] a stiff, sticky fine-grained earth that can be moulded when wet, and is dried and baked to make bricks, pottery, and ceramics:the soil is mainly clay [as modifier]:a clay soila clay tile [count noun]:the rocks are covered by various mixtures of loose clays and sands
technical sediment with particles smaller than silt, typically less than 0.002 mm.
a hardened clay surface for a tennis court: [as modifier]:a clay court
literary the substance of the human body:this lifeless clay
2a European moth with yellowish-brown wings.
Several species in the family Noctuidae
Derivatives
clayey
adjective
clayish
adjective
clay-like
adjective
Origin:
Old Englishclǣg, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch klei, also to cleave2 and climb
