GROUP OF PEOPLEa small group of people who think they are special and do not want other people to join them – used to show disapproval 派系;小圈子;小集团〔含贬义〕
clique of
a ruling clique of officials
统治集团中的官员
the cliques formed by high school students
由中学生组成的小圈子
Examples from the Corpus
clique• His flat became a haven for a clique of young men of similartastes whom the war had thrown together in Cairo.• Most of the kids were friendly, apart from a clique of girls who came from rich families.• a clique of literary friends who thought they were so superior• Each cliquetreated the establishment as its club and took no notice at all of anyone outside the charmedcircle.• So, even moderatefame still eluded him, and Nicholson remained unknown outside of a small Hollywood clique.• There was a really heavy little clique, the same ones that ousted the governor.• Admittedly, they went to North Carolina as a fractious team with too many cliques.