From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcleverclev‧er /ˈklevə $ -ər/ ●●● S2 adjective 1 especially British EnglishINTELLIGENT able to learn and understand things quickly SYN intelligent, smart American English a clever manvery/extremely/quite/pretty etc clever Lucy is quite clever and does well at school.► see thesaurus at intelligent2 INTELLIGENTable to use your intelligence to get what you want, especially in a slightly dishonest way a clever lawyer’s tricks3 especially British EnglishGOOD AT skilful at doing a particular thing Bill’s very clever with his hands. his clever ball controlclever at doing something He was clever at finding bargains.4 EFFECTIVEdone or made in an unusual or interesting way that is very effective What a clever little gadget! a clever marketing strategy5 STUPID/NOT SENSIBLE British English spoken used jokingly when someone has done something silly or stupid ‘When I got to the library I found I’d left the books at home.’ ‘That was clever!’ 6 → clever clogs/dick7 → be too clever by half —cleverly adverb —cleverness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
clever• Actually, it's quite clever.• Who would have thought the old man could be so clever?• She was clever, and he thought she was a bit too serious, although she had a sense of humour.• They won the case by being clever and hiring influential lawyers to help them.• Tabloid reporters are very clever and persistent.• Doug's always been clever at finding the best deals available.• In the story, the miller's daughter is a clever, beautiful girl.• Gibson met a clever classmate who had built his own radio transmitter.• From the start it was conceived as a clever commercial package rather than a deeply personal film.• It is a clever device that can chop onions in seconds.• It sounds like a clever idea. Do you think it'll work?• What I like is how clever it is.• a clever joke• If he didn't, some clever lawyer would get the boy off on a technicality.• Virtual Listening Systems have introduced one of the year's most unusual and clever new products.• That was very clever of you, How did you do that?• Ben Gurion was a cool, calculating and clever politician.• My sister was always much cleverer than me at school.• I've thought of a really clever way of making money.• He can be really clever when he wants to be.• They are clever work, but they merely represent a harnessing of this quantum effect.very/extremely/quite/pretty etc clever• However, for some one supposed to be very clever, he seemed to get a great deal of pleasure out of ordinary things.• Feedback is a very clever idea.• Meredith, you're either very clever, or unbelievably naïve.• It was all very clever, really, because all the wedding presents had just more or less run out.• It really was a very clever thing indeed.• Both play a very clever trick which will answer the prayers of video users all round the world.• How right you are, very clever, very ... disputatious.Origin clever (1200-1300) Probably from a Scandinavian language 