Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - claim

~1 v 1 to state that something is true, even though it has not been proved  (claim (that))  (Gascoigne claimed he'd been dining with friends at the time of the murder. | claim to be)  (She claims to be a descendant of Charles Dickens. | claim to have done)  (Doctors claimed to have discovered a cure for the disease. | claim responsibility/innocence/credit (=say officially that you are responsible, innocent etc)) 2 to officially demand or receive money from an organization + on  (You can claim on the insurance if you have an accident while on vacation. | The government intends to make legal aid harder to claim.) claim benefit/an allowance/damages (=officially receive money because you do not have a job, are injured etc) 3 to state that you have a right to something or to take something that belongs to you  (Viscount Lander will claim the title on his father's death. | Lost property can be claimed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.) 4 if a war, accident etc claims lives, people die because of it  (The Kobe earthquake has so far claimed over 3000 lives.) 5 if something claims someone's attention or time, they have to consider it carefully  (The issue of a united Ireland continues to claim our undivided attention.) ~2 n 1 »MONEY« a) a request for money, especially money that you have a right to + for  (claims for compensation) make a claim/put in a claim  (They put in a claim on the insurance for the stolen luggage. | pay claim (=a request made by workers for more money) | claim form (=an official form that you must fill in in order to get money from an organization)) b) the sum of money you request when making such a claim  (The insurance company cannot meet such enormous claims.) 2 »STATEMENT« a statement that something is true, even though it has not been proved  (claim that)  (Dino denies claims that he is involved in a drugs ring. | claim to do/be sth)  (the Democratic claim to be the party of women's rights | make a claim)  (Photographs make a claim to portray reality in a way that paintings never can. | make no claim to do something (=used to say that you do not pretend to be able to do something))  (I make no claim to understand the complexities of the situation. | dispute a claim (=say publicly that a statement is not true)) 3 »FOR PRAISE/RESPECT ETC« something that you say or do, that shows that you deserve to be successful  (Judging by last night's performance Ryan must have a claim to a place on the Olympic team.) 4 »TO OWN OR TAKE STH« a right to have or get something such as land, a title etc that belongs to you  (No one can dispute Oliver's claim to the inheritance.) have a claim on/to sth  (Surely they have a rightful claim to their father's land?) 5 lay claim to sth to say that you have a right to own something  (Ellen resented the stranger who laid claim to her brother's fortune.) 6 stake your claim to say that you have a right to own something, especially when other people also say they have a right to own it  (If you want some of the furniture now's the time to stake your claim.) 7 claim to fame an expression meaning a reason why someone or something is famous, often used jokingly when mentioning something that is not very important  (My main claim to fame is that I once shook Elvis' hand.) 8 have a claim on sb to have a right to demand someone's time, attention etc  (She seems to think she's got an exclusive claim on my time.) 9 »LAND« something such as a piece of land that contains valuable minerals  (- see also jump a claim jump1 (19))