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# claw

«claw» in Mova's school dictionary: **a sharp curved nail on the foot of an animal or bird…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a claw, claws); verb (claw, claws, clawed, clawing)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A claw is a sharp curved nail on the foot of an animal or bird, like a cat's, eagle's or bear's. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#m1)

2) A claw is the pincer of a crab, lobster or scorpion, used to grab things. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#m2)

3) To claw is to scratch, tear or grab with claws or fingernails. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#m3)

4) To claw your way is to move or get something with great effort. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#m4)

5) A claw can also mean a hand, especially a hooked one. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons, claws are adaptations for hunting, climbing, digging and defending. Cats can pull their claws in (retract); dogs cannot. In everyday life, the claw machine at fairs is a game. A claw hammer has a split end for pulling out nails. Phrases: «sharp claws», «claw at», «claw back» (get back with effort), «claw machine».

### examples

- The cat scratched the sofa with its claws. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#x1)
- The eagle grabbed the fish with its claws. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#x2)
- Crabs pinch with their big claws. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#x3)
- Bears use their claws to dig and climb. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#x4)
- The puppy clawed at the door to get in. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#x5)
- I tried to win a toy from the claw machine. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#x6)
- Cats can hide their claws inside their paws. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#x7)
- The climbers clawed their way up the steep slope. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#x8)
- “Shake hands, Starkey,” said Hook, proffering his claw. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/#x9)

### note

Countable. A bird of prey's claws are also called talons. Do not confuse with «clause» (part of a sentence), which sounds similar. Safety: don't play rough with cats or dogs — claws can scratch and scratches can get infected.

### In the corpora

- [An echidna has no teeth and catches ants and termites with a long sticky tongue after breaking into their nests with strong claws.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/43-platypus-and-echidna/13/)
- [A two-toed sloth has two claws on each front foot and three on each back foot.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/108-the-south-american-area-sloths-anteaters-piranhas-giant-otters/6/)
- [Giant anteaters walk on their knuckles to protect long front claws, which rip open hard termite mounds and can fight off a jaguar.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/108-the-south-american-area-sloths-anteaters-piranhas-giant-otters/8/)
- [Long curved claws hook over branches, so a sloth can hang upside down for hours, even asleep, without tiring.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/142-zootopia-real-sloths-shrews-predators-and-prey/6/)
- [Ringed seals dig snow caves on the ice to hide their pups and keep breathing holes open by scratching the ice with strong claws.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/169-the-arctic-ocean-walruses-bowheads-the-400-year-shark-and-the-unicorns-tooth/11/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «claw» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/claw/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.