cluck

1 of 2

verb

clucked; clucking; clucks

intransitive verb

1
: to make a cluck
2
: to make a clicking sound with the tongue
3
: to express interest or concern
critics clucked over the new developments

transitive verb

1
: to call with a cluck
2
: to express with interest or concern

cluck

2 of 2

noun

1
: the characteristic sound made by a hen especially in calling her chicks
2
: a stupid or naive person
a dumb cluck

Examples of cluck in a Sentence

Verb The hen clucked at her chicks. The driver clucked at the horses to get them moving. Commentators have been clucking over his lack of experience. Noun Don't be such a dumb cluck. stuck with a bunch of clucks on an extended bus tour
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
At worst, friends who saw the post might have clucked at my show of poor taste in the face of tragedy and then moved on with their lives. Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025 This spring, Clase sits in a folding chair, chickens clucking away, and Luis Ortiz sits beside him, the two of them glued to the action on the farm. Zack Meisel, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
Noun
For me, the Caribbean is the cluck of a rooster during sunrise, a coconut from a roadside truck to quell the afternoon heat. Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 2 Dec. 2024 Her 8-year-old daughter, wearing pigtails, sucked on a lollipop as the clucks of chickens cut through the quiet of the neighborhood. 1 of 2 In Georgia, agriculture is a $83.6 billion industry that supports more than 323,000 jobs, according to the Georgia Farm Bureau. Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 4 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for cluck

Word History

Etymology

Verb

imitative

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1703, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cluck was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cluck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cluck. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

cluck

noun
ˈklək
: the call of a hen especially to her chicks
cluck verb

More from Merriam-Webster on cluck

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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