To make a sharp, repeated clicking sound with your tongue, or the soft sound that chickens make when calling their chicks.
Onomatopoeia from the Middle English period, imitating the actual sound chickens produce. The word is imitative and appears similarly in other Germanic languages.
The sound 'cluck' is one of the most universally imitated animal sounds across cultures, and linguists notice that humans spontaneously produce similar clicking sounds to call animals worldwide—suggesting something deep about how sound and meaning connect in our brains.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.