club

club — verb

1. to spend an evening at a single nightclub or dance venue, dancing and socialisin

1.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to spend an evening at a single nightclub or dance venue, dancing and socialising with friends

Example

Amihan and her friends go clubbing every Friday night at a new venue.

structure: go clubbing [frequency] at [place]

We were clubbing until three in the morning and missed the last train home.

continuous form: be clubbing until [time]

Common collocations
  • go clubbing
  • be out clubbing
  • clubbing scene
Synonyms
  • party

    broader — can mean socialising anywhere, not just at a nightclub

  • go out

    more general — does not specify dancing or clubs

Grammar Patterns

be clubbing

go clubbing

club + adverb (e.g. every weekend, all night)

Usage Note

Frequently used in the continuous form ('be clubbing' or 'go clubbing'). The simple past is less common. This sense rarely appears in formal writing. Distinguished from sense 2 (GO CLUBBING) by focusing on a single venue rather than moving between several clubs.

Common Mistakes

I clubbed last night.
I went clubbing last night.
the structure 'go clubbing' is much more natural than using 'club' alone in simple past.

2. to go out to a series of nightclubs in a single evening as a social routine, foc

2.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to go out to a series of nightclubs in a single evening as a social routine, focusing on experiencing the nightlife scene rather than spending the whole night at one venue

Example

Roya suggested they go clubbing at a few different places to celebrate her promotion.

go clubbing at [multiple venues]

The tourists spent the whole night clubbing at beachside bars along the coast.

Common collocations
  • go clubbing
  • club scene
  • club all night
  • nightlife
Synonyms
  • party

    broader — any social celebration, not club-specific

  • hit the clubs

    more informal, slang — suggests going to multiple venues

  • go out

    much more general — could mean any evening entertainment

Grammar Patterns

go clubbing in [area]

go clubbing at [place]

go clubbing + time expression

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1 (DANCE): sense 2 emphasises the practice of visiting multiple clubs or experiencing the club scene as a lifestyle, whereas sense 1 is about dancing at one venue. The collocation 'go clubbing' is the most natural form for both senses.

Common Mistakes

We clubbed at the club.
We went clubbing at a new nightclub.
avoid using 'club' as both verb and noun in the same phrase.

3. to strike someone or something violently and repeatedly, using a thick heavy sti

3.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to strike someone or something violently and repeatedly, using a thick heavy stick or any blunt weapon such as a metal pipe

Example

The thief tried to club the security guard with a metal pipe, but missed.

club + object + with + instrument (blunt object)

During the riot, several protesters were clubbed by police officers using long wooden batons.

passive: be clubbed by [someone] using [instrument]

Common collocations
  • club someone to death
  • club someone with [something]
  • club [animal] on the head
Synonyms
  • bludgeon

    more specific — hitting with a heavy, thick object; also used figuratively

  • batter

    more violent — suggests hitting many times with great force

  • beat

    more general — can involve hands, fists, or any object

Grammar Patterns

club + object

club + object + with + instrument

be clubbed + adverb (e.g. to death)

Usage Note

This sense is less common in everyday conversation than words like 'hit' or 'beat'. It often appears in news reports about violent incidents or in historical descriptions of combat.

Common Mistakes

The player clubbed the ball into the goal.
The player hit the ball into the goal.
'club' as a verb means to strike with a heavy object, not to hit a ball in sports (use 'hit', 'strike', or 'kick').

club — noun

Word family

  • clubber
    nounB2
  • clubbing
    nounB1
  • clubhouse
    nounB2
  • clubland
    nounC1
  • clubroom
    nounB2
  • nightclub
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five words describe groups formed by people who share an interest, but they differ in formality, purpose, and typical context. A club (noun/1) is the most general and informal — a photography club, a book club — and usually meets for recreation or hobbies. A society tends to be more academic or cultural (a historical society, the Royal Society) and often has a formal constitution. An association is more professional or trade‑focused (a teachers' association, the American Medical Association) and typically advocates for members' interests. Organisation is the broadest term, covering any structured group (a charity organisation, a student organisation), including clubs and associations. A union is specifically a workers' group formed to negotiate with employers, though it can also mean a social club at some universities (students' union). In everyday Taiwan context: 'club' translates most naturally to 社團 (school or hobby groups), 'society' to 學會 (learned bodies), 'association' to 協會 (professional), and 'union' to 工會 (labour) or 學生會 (student government).

club ↗society ↗association ↗organisation ↗union ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • member (club member)
  • membership (club membership)
  • meeting (club meeting)
  • night (club night)
  • dress code (club dress code)
  • entrance (club entrance)

Adverbs

  • together (club together)
  • regularly (attend a club)

Phrases

  • join a club
  • belong to a club
  • start a club
  • run a club
  • leave a club
  • club together
  • go clubbing

Prepositions

  • at (at the club)
  • in (in the club)
  • into (into the club)
  • to (go to a club)
  • with (club someone with...)
  • out of (out of the club)

Etymology

Old NorseEnglish

The word 'club' entered English from Old Norse 'klubba', meaning a thick stick with a heavy end, during the Viking invasions of the 9th–11th centuries. This original sense — a blunt weapon — is still in use today (noun sense 7). By the 1500s, the term was applied to the tapered stick used in golf (noun sense 6), and in the 1600s, the word took a striking new direction: groups of people who 'clubbed together' — pooling money or forming a collective — came to be called 'clubs', giving us the social organisation sense (noun sense 1). The nightclub sense (noun sense 5) emerged in the early 20th century as a shortened form of 'nightclub'. The playing-card suit (noun sense 8) is a separate borrowing: it came from French 'trèfle' (clover), translated into English as 'club' because the three-leaf symbol resembled a knobby stick. The verb senses followed from the noun: 'to club' (strike with a club) dates to the 1500s, while 'to club' (go to nightclubs) is a late‑20th‑century back‑formation.