Clash Meaning
/ˈklæʃ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA loud sound, like the crashing together of metal objects; a crash.
nounA skirmish, a hostile encounter.
Sentence Examples
Our interests clash with theirs.
The two meetings clash.
The two strongest teams will clash with each other this weekend.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The two leaders will ____ over the proposed budget cuts this afternoon.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
There was a violent ____ between the two rival groups.
Word Origin & History
Of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Saterland Frisian klatskje (“to smack, slap”), West Frisian kletse, kletskje, Dutch kletsen (“to smack, slap, clash”), German Low German klattsen, klatsken (“to smack, splash”), German klatschen (“to clap, smack, slap”) and Klatsch (“a clapping sound; the din resulting from two or more things colliding”), Danish klaske (“to clash, splatter”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Alone amid clashes of rain against the house."
— 2025 January 28, Patricia McLinn, Lattimore Mountain (The Sheila Mackey Collection, Book 1), Craig Place Books, →ISBN:
"In Anatolia tensions between state officials (ehl-i örf) and the peasants were strained to breaking point.
At several places—particularly in the frontier provinces—there were fierce clashes between the janissaries stationed there and the governors. In Aleppo and Damascus incidents were common after 1589: the kuls threw rocks at the beylerbeyi’s house, killed people, broke into the divan several times and took the money prepared by the council for remittance to the centre."
— 2018, Pál Fodor, The Business of State. Ottoman Finance Administration and Ruling Elites in Transition (1580s–1615) (Studien zur Sprache, Geschichte und Kultur der Turkvölker; 28), Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag × De Gruyter, published 2020, →DOI, →ISBN, page 50:
"Protesters took to the streets and stormed federal buildings. At least 77 people died in violent clashes between protesters and police and then-Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli was forced to resign."
— 2026 March 11, Chad de Guzman, “Who Is Balendra Shah, the Rapper On Track to Become Nepal’s Next Prime Minister”, in TIME, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2026:
"But they ran out of time and inspiration as Les Bleus set up a deserved semi-final clash with Wales."
— 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France:
"clay soils ploughed in Autumn must often meet with heavy clashes of rain before frost: therefore , those salutary effects, expected to be derived from a frosty Winter, must often be frustrated, by the land being too much condensed by the rains before the frost comes on."
— 1802, The Farmer's Magazine: A Periodical Work, Exclusively Devoted to Agriculture, and Rural Affairs ..., page 172:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The two leaders will ____ over the proposed budget cuts this afternoon.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
There was a violent ____ between the two rival groups.