clashes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of clash.

   Violent clashes broke out between protesters and police downtown.

   Scheduling clashes forced the committee to postpone two of the talks.

   Note

   The -es ending is the spelling English uses after a final -sh, as in brushes and wishes, and it adds a syllable. Clash can also be uncountable, as in the clash of steel or a clash of cultures, so the plural marks separate events. Typical uses are clashes between protesters and police, clashes of color in an outfit, and the clashes of two sides meeting in a match.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of clash.

   The new policy clashes with everything the company claimed to stand for.

   She regularly clashes with the board over long-term strategy.

   Note

   One present-tense form carries two quite different verbs. Most uses take no object and pair with "with": a manager clashes with the board, a tie clashes with a shirt. The causative use is different, because there someone clashes cymbals or swords together, the form takes a direct object, and the sound itself is the point. Its -es spelling follows the plural noun.

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