cleavage

noun ! Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cleavage at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

1. The state of being split or cleft.

   there was a cleavage between the liberal and conservative members

2. The breaking of a chemical bond in a molecule resulting in smaller molecules.
3. (embryology) the repeated division of a fertilised ovum.