Clash

How to spell clash

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce clash

What does clash mean?

1. verbTo come into conflict or disagree sharply, or to be visually mismatched.
2. nounA sharp disagreement, a violent encounter, or a loud noise of striking objects.

Clash in a sentence

• verb

  The two managers clash over every budget decision.

• noun

  A bitter clash between the two parties stalled the talks.

• verb

  Those bright orange curtains clash with the pink walls.

• noun

  The clash of cymbals startled everyone in the hall.

Where does clash come from?

Language of origin: Other

Clash first appears in English in the middle 1500s and is widely regarded as an echoic or imitative coinage, a word invented to mimic the sharp, ringing noise of two hard things striking together. Many scholars suspect it arose as a blend of the sounds suggested by words like 'clap' and 'crash', which would explain its abrupt opening and its hissing finish. The earliest recorded uses describe the literal noise of weapons or metal banging together, and only later did the word extend outward to cover the figurative collision of opinions, interests, and even colours. Because its origin lies in pure sound rather than in any borrowed Latin or Greek root, the spelling is refreshingly phonetic and the only real care point is the closing -sh. The same imitative impulse that produced clash also sits behind a whole family of noisy English words, which is why it feels so natural to say aloud.

How the word is built

• clash (a single imitative root word; no prefix or suffix)