FluentPlex

cling

/ˈklɪŋ/ verb C2
  1. To hold very tightly, as to not fall off. · Seaweed clung to the anchor.
  2. To adhere to an object, without being affixed, in such a way as to follow its contours. Used especially of fabrics and films.
  3. To cause to adhere to, especially by twining round or embracing. (transitive)
  4. To cause to dry up or wither. (transitive)
  5. To dry up or wither. (intransitive) · Wood clings.
  6. To be fond of, to feel strongly about and dependent on. (figuratively)

He/she/it clings · Past clung · Past participle clung · -ing form clinging

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Verb forms

Base form
cling
He/she/it
clings
Past
clung
Past participle
clung
-ing form
clinging

An irregular verb: learn its past and past participle by heart.

From the library

They were indeed a queer-looking party that assembled on the bank—the birds with draggled feathers, the animals with their fur clinging close to them, and all dripping wet, cross, and uncomfortable.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, p. 15 · B2
Bagheera would lie out on a branch and call, “Come along, Little Brother,” and at first Mowgli would cling like the sloth, but afterward he would fling himself through the branches almost as boldly as the gray ape.
The Jungle Book, p. 13 · B2
They clung around the necks of the big stone idols and shrieked as they skipped along the battlements, while Mowgli, dancing in the summerhouse, put his eye to the screenwork and hooted owl-fashion between his front teeth, to show his derision and contempt.
The Jungle Book, p. 57 · B2
He found a little wisp of grass floating there, and clung to it till he lost his senses.
The Jungle Book, p. 64 · B2

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Words, meanings, pronunciations and translations from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); how common each word is from wordfreq. Made into this dictionary by FluentPlex.