claim Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an assertion of a right (as to money or property)
    • his claim asked for damages
  2. noun an assertion that something is true or factual
    • his claim that he was innocent
    • evidence contradicted the government's claims
  3. noun demand for something as rightful or due
    • they struck in support of their claim for a shorter work day
  4. noun an informal right to something
    title.
    • his claim on her attentions
    • his title to fame
  5. noun an established or recognized right
    title.
    • a strong legal claim to the property
    • he had no documents confirming his title to his father's estate
    • he staked his claim
  6. noun a demand especially in the phrase "the call of duty"
    call.
  7. verb assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing
    • He claimed that he killed the burglar
  8. verb demand as being one's due or property; assert one's right or title to
    lay claim; arrogate.
    • He claimed his suitcases at the airline counter
    • Mr. Smith claims special tax exemptions because he is a foreign resident
  9. verb ask for legally or make a legal claim to, as of debts, for example
    • They claimed on the maximum allowable amount
  10. verb lay claim to; as of an idea
    take.
    • She took credit for the whole idea
  11. verb take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs
    exact; take.
    • the accident claimed three lives
    • The hard work took its toll on her

WordNet

Claim verb
Etymology
OE. clamen, claimen, OF. clamer, fr. L. clamare to cry out, call; akin to calare to proclaim, Gr. to call, Skr. kal to sound, G. holen to fetch, E. hale haul.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Claimed present participle & verbal noun Claiming
Definitions
  1. To ask for, or seek to obtain, by virtue of authority, right, or supposed right; to challenge as a right; to demand as due.
  2. To proclaim. Obs. Spenser.
  3. To call or name. Obs. Spenser.
  4. To assert; to maintain. Colloq.
Claim intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To be entitled to anything; to deduce a right or title; to have a claim.
    We must know how the first ruler, from whom any one claims, came by his authority. Locke.
Claim noun
Etymology
Of. claim cry, complaint, from clamer. See Claim, v.t.
Definitions
  1. A demand of a right or supposed right; a calling on another for something due or supposed to be due; an assertion of a right or fact.
  2. A right to claim or demand something; a title to any debt, privilege, or other thing in possession of another; also, a title to anything which another should give or concede to, or confer on, the claimant. "A bar to all claims upon land." Hallam.
  3. The thing claimed or demanded; that (as land) to which any one intends to establish a right; as a settler's claim; a miner's claim. U.S. & Australia
  4. A laoud call. Obs. Spenser
    To lay claim to, to demand as a right. "Doth he lay claim to thine inheritance?" Shak.

Webster 1913