Clashes

How to spell clashes

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce clashes

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does clashes mean?

1. nounViolent confrontations, or sharp conflicts between opposing people, ideas, or things.
2. verbComes into conflict, collides, or fails to match or harmonise.

Clashes in a sentence

• noun

  The report documented several clashes between protesters and police.

• verb

  That bright orange tie clashes badly with the maroon shirt.

• noun

  Scheduling clashes forced the committee to postpone two meetings.

• verb

  His account of the meeting clashes with everyone else's notes.

Where does clashes come from?

Language of origin: Other

The base word clash first appears in English in the 1500s and is generally regarded as onomatopoeic, an imitation of the sharp, ringing noise made when two hard objects strike together. Many scholars suspect it is a blend influenced by the sound and shape of words like clap and crash, which carry the same percussive feel. From the literal sense of metal striking metal, the meaning broadened to cover any violent collision, then to the figurative idea of opposing forces, opinions, or colours that do not go together. The spelling stays refreshingly regular: the plural and third-person form simply adds -es because the word ends in -sh, which is the same rule that gives us wishes and dishes. Because the origin is rooted in sound rather than a borrowed classical word, there is no hidden silent letter or foreign spelling trap to catch the writer out.

How the word is built

• clash (imitative root for a loud collision)
• -es (plural noun / third-person singular verb suffix)