Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

cleave

/ˈkliːv/ verb

In Latin: haereo Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cleave at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument.
The wings clove the foggy air.
To break a single crystal (such as a gemstone or semiconductor wafer) along one of its more symmetrical crystallographic planes (often by impact), forming facets on the resulting pieces.
To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting.
The truck clove a path through the ice.

noun

Flat, smooth surface produced by cleavage, or any similar surface produced by similar techniques, as in glass.
A cut (slash) or a cut location, either naturally or artificially.

verb

Followed by to or unto: to adhere, cling, or stick fast to something.

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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word