clique

1. A small, exclusive group of individuals, usually having some common characteristic such as lifestyle or social status, or common purpose; specifically one formed for disreputable purposes, or which purports to be an authority on a particular matter; a cabal. · Near-synonyms: circle, faction, gang· This school used to be really friendly, but now everyone keeps to their own cliques.
2. A subgraph isomorphic to a complete graph. · The problem of finding the largest clique in an arbitrary graph is NP-complete.
3. A group of related websites that link to each other, like a webring but with exclusive membership determined by the clique owner.
4. An informal faction in the Republic of China (1912–1949) led by one or more warlords exercising regional control through local armed forces (particularly during the Warlord Era); a regional junta.

Plural cliques