cleave definition | Dictionary.com

cleave

1 [kleev]

–verb (used without object), cleaved or (Archaic

) clave; cleaved; cleav⋅ing.

1.	to adhere closely; stick; cling (usually fol. by to).

2.	to remain faithful (usually fol. by to): to cleave to one's principles in spite of persecution.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME cleven, OE cleofian, c. OHG klebēn (G kleben)

Related forms:

cleav⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

cleave

2 [kleev]

verb, cleft or cleaved or clove, cleft or cleaved or clo⋅ven, cleav⋅ing.

–verb (used with object)

1.	to split or divide by or as if by a cutting blow, esp. along a natural line of division, as the grain of wood.

2.	to make by or as if by cutting: to cleave a path through the wilderness.

3.	to penetrate or pass through (air, water, etc.): The bow of the boat cleaved the water cleanly.

4.	to cut off; sever: to cleave a branch from a tree.

–verb (used without object)

5.	to part or split, esp. along a natural line of division.

6.	to penetrate or advance by or as if by cutting (usually fol. by through).

Origin:
bef. 950; ME cleven, OE clēofan, c. OHG klioban (G klieben), ON kljūfa; akin to Gk glýphein to carve, L glūbere to peel

Synonyms:
1. halve, rend, rive.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To cleave

cleave¹ (klēv)

v. cleft (klěft) or cleaved or clove (klōv), cleft or cleaved or clo·ven (klō'vən), cleav·ing, cleaves

v. tr.

To split with or as if with a sharp instrument. See Synonyms at tear¹.
To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting: cleave a path through the ice.
To pierce or penetrate: The wings cleaved the foggy air.
Chemistry To split (a complex molecule) into simpler molecules.

v. intr.

Mineralogy To split or separate, especially along a natural line of division.
To penetrate or pass through something, such as water or air.

[Middle English cleven, from Old English clēofan; see gleubh- in Indo-European roots.]
cleav'a·ble adj.

cleave² (klēv)

intr.v. cleaved, cleav·ing, cleaves

To adhere, cling, or stick fast.
To be faithful: cleave to one's principles.

[Middle English cleven, from Old English cleofian.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cleave

Cleave\ (kl[=e]v), v. i. [imp. Cleaved (kl[=e]vd), Clave (kl[=a]v, Obs.); p. p. Cleaved; p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving.] [OE. cleovien, clivien, cliven, AS. cleofian, clifian; akin to OS. klib[=o]n, G. kleben, LG. kliven, D. kleven, Dan. kl[ae]be, Sw. klibba, and also to G. kleiben to cleve, paste, Icel. kl[=i]fa to climb. Cf. Climb.]

1. To adhere closely; to stick; to hold fast; to cling.

My bones cleave to my skin. --Ps. cii. 5.

The diseases of Egypt . . . shall cleave unto thee. --Deut. xxviii. 60.

Sophistry cleaves close to and protects Sin's rotten trunk, concealing its defects. --Cowper.

2. To unite or be united closely in interest or affection; to adhere with strong attachment.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife. --Gen. ii. 24.

Cleave unto the Lord your God. --Josh. xxiii. 8.

3. To fit; to be adapted; to assimilate. [Poetic.]

New honors come upon him, Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mold But with the aid of use. --Shak.

Cleave

Cleave\ (kl[=e]v), v. t. [imp. Cleft (kl[e^]ft), Clave (kl[=a]v, Obs.), Clove (kl[=o]v, Obsolescent); p. p. Cleft, Cleaved (kl[=e]vd) or Cloven (kl[=o]"v'n); p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving.] [OE. cleoven, cleven, AS. cle['o]fan; akin to OS. klioban, D. klooven, G. klieben, Icel. klj[=u]fa, Sw. klyfva, Dan. kl["o]ve and prob. to Gr. gly`fein to carve, L. glubere to peel. Cf. Cleft.]

1. To part or divide by force; to split or rive; to cut.

O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. --Shak.

2. To part or open naturally; to divide.

Every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws. --Deut. xiv. 6.

Cleave

Cleave\, v. i. To part; to open; to crack; to separate; as parts of bodies; as, the ground cleaves by frost.

The Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst. --Zech. xiv. 4.

Language Translation for : cleave

Spanish: partir,

German: spalten,

Japanese: 切り裂く

More Translations »

cleave (1)

"to split," O.E. cleofan "to split, separate" (class II strong verb, past tense cleaf, past participle clofen), from P.Gmc. *kleubanan, from PIE base *gleubh- "to cut, slice." The old, strong p.t. clave was still alive at the time of the King James Bible; and the p.p. cloven survives, though mostly in compounds. Cleavage in geology is from 1816. The sense of "cleft between a woman's breasts in low-cut clothing" is first recorded 1946, when it was defined in a "Time" magazine article as the "Johnston Office trade term for the shadowed depression dividing an actress' bosom into two distinct sections" [Aug. 5].

cleave (2)

"to adhere," O.E. clifian, from W.Gmc. *klibajanan, from PIE *gloi- "to stick." The confusion was less in O.E. when cleave (1) was a class 2 strong verb and cleave (2) a class 1 verb; but it has grown since cleave (1) weakened, which may be why both are largely superseded by stick and split. Cleaver "butcher's chopper" is from 1483.

Main Entry: cleave
Pronunciation: 'klEv
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: cleaved; cleav·ing
: to subject to chemicalcleavage cleaved by an enzyme>

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