[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/clew/)

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# clew

noun (a clew, clews); verb (clew, clews, clewed, clewing)

«clew» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (sailing) The lower back corner of a sail, where a rope is attached. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clew/#m1)
2. (old-fashioned) A ball of thread or yarn. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clew/#m2)
3. (old spelling) An old way of writing «clue». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clew/#m3)
4. (verb, sailing) «Clew up» means to pull up a sail by its corners. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clew/#m4)

### In the lessons

In stories from Greek myth, Theseus used a clew (ball of thread) to find his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth, and that is how «clue» got its meaning: something that leads you to an answer. In sailing lessons, the clew is one of the three corners of a triangle sail (head, tack, clew).

### Examples

- The sailor tied the rope to the clew of the sail. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clew/#x1)
- Ariadne gave Theseus a clew of thread to find his way out. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clew/#x2)
- The word «clue» comes from «clew», a ball of thread. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clew/#x3)
- Pull the clew tight to trim the sail. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clew/#x4)
- The three corners of a sail are the head, the tack and the clew. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clew/#x5)
- The old book spelled «clue» as «clew». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clew/#x6)
- You need only hold the end of the thread, and the clew will run on before and show you the way. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clew/#x7)

### Note

Sounds exactly like «clue» (homophone). Today «clew» is only used in sailing or old stories; for detective hints, write «clue».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «clew» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clew/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«clew» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/clew.html) on Mova free.