clings

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular present of cling.

   The vine clings to the brick wall with tiny tendrils.

   She still clings to the hope that her old job will return.

   Note

   The -s form goes with a singular subject (the vine clings, she clings) and usually takes to before what is held: it clings to a wall, she clings to a hope. The figurative sense of fondness and dependence uses the same to. Less familiar is the verb's other meaning, to dry up or wither, so a plant that clings may be shriveling rather than gripping. Only the context tells you which meaning is intended.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of cling.

   The cannery prefers clings because their dense flesh holds up during processing.

   Several clings ripened early in the orchard this season.

   Note

   The plural is most at home in the orchard: clings are peaches and other fruit whose flesh holds fast to the pit, unlike freestones, which come away cleanly. Decorative window ornaments are counted the same way, so a shop may sell a pack of clings. The spelling is shared with the present-tense verb, and a number or article shows which is meant: two clings, but she clings.

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