clique

Meanings

Noun

• A small, exclusive group of individuals, usually according to lifestyle or social status; a cabal.
• A subgraph isomorphic to a complete graph.
• A group of related web sites that link to each other, like a webring but with exclusive membership determined by the clique owner.

Verb

• To associate together in a clannish way; to act with others secretly to gain a desired end; to plot.

Related

Similar words

• coterie, inner circle, camp

Opposite words

• independent set

Broader meaning words

• ingroup

Origin

• Borrowed from French clique, ultimately of imitative origin. Influenced by "claque", though this may have happened in French rather than in English.