cling

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To hold on to something very tightly.

   The child clung to her mother's hand in the crowd.

2. 2
   verb

   To stick closely to a surface.

   The wet shirt clung to his back.

3. 3
   verb

   To stay emotionally attached to something and refuse to let go.

   They cling to the hope that he will return.

From Middle English clingen, from Old English clingan (“to adhere”), from Proto-West Germanic *klingan, from Proto-Germanic *klinganą. Cognate with Danish klynge (“to cluster, to crowd”). Compare clump.

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