Claim

How it is used

Writers make, support, challenge or qualify a claim, and reviewers comment on unsupported or overstated claims. As a verb, claim is a reporting verb that can suggest doubt about the statement, so it sounds more distant than argue or show.

Example sentences

1. This claim is not supported by the data presented in Table 4.

2. The authors claim that the method works in all contexts, but they tested it in only one country.

Common collocations

• make a claim
• support a claim
• challenge a claim
• unsupported claim
• overstated claim

Related terms

• argumentA position supported by reasons and evidence, or the line of reasoning that runs through an essay, article or thesis.
• evidenceFacts, data or findings that show whether a claim or idea is true or likely to be true.
• hedgingUsing cautious language, such as may, might, appear to or suggest, so that a claim is only as strong as the evidence allows.
• counterargumentAn argument against your own position, which a writer presents fairly and then answers or weakens to make the main argument stronger.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• claim · Healthcare Management
• claim · Insurance
• claim · Law
• claim · Philosophy

More terms: Argument and Hedging

• argue
• suggest
• to some extent
• stance
• it could be argued that
• acknowledge
• arguably
• tentative
• plausible
• tend to
• it is worth noting that
• assert