Link Centre Dictionary

cleave

UK/ˈkliːv/ US/ˈkʰl̥ɪi̯v/ uncommon rare

verb

1.

separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument

  • “cleave the bone”
Synonyms
2.

make by cutting into

  • “The water is going to cleave a channel into the rock”
3.

come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation

  • “The dress clings to her body”
  • “The label stuck to the box”
  • “The sushi rice grains cohere”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English cleven, from the Old English strong verb clēofan (“to split, to separate”), from Proto-West Germanic *kleuban, from Proto-Germanic *kleubaną, from Proto-Indo-European *glewbʰ- (“to cut, to slice”). Doublet of clive. Cognate with Dutch klieven, dialectal German klieben, Swedish klyva, Norwegian Nynorsk kløyva; also Ancient Greek γλύφω (glúphō, “carve”).

Phrases

  • cleave gag

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Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.