From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishclayclay /kleɪ/ ●●○ noun [uncountable] TIPa type of heavy sticky earth that can be used for making pots, bricks etc → feet of clay at foot1(27)
Examples from the Corpus
clay• In that case the sellers had warranted that a clay pulverising machine would process clay at six tons per hour.• Côte des Blancs Topsoil Lignite, sand and clay.• Portraits in clay, wood, oil.• Here we find the features of the deceased preserved in clay masks.• I saw a great crafts shop, full of clay and paints.• Laterite, a red clay, was used to make roads.• The natural color of the clay communicates its earthy source and the smoky black tones on the surface suggest an ancient origin.• This is an inadvertent consequence of the peculiar defect structure of the clay.Origin clay Old English clæg 