[klee-ver] 
| 1. | a heavy, broad-bladed knife or long-bladed hatchet, esp. one used by butchers for cutting meat into joints or pieces. |
| 2. | a person or thing that cleaves. |
| cleav·er (klē'vər) n.
|
cleaver
heavy, axlike knife used since the Middle Pleistocene era to cut through animal bone and meat; in modern times the cleaver, generally made of iron or carbon steel, remains a requisite tool of the butcher and a common kitchen implement. The versatility of the cleaver is probably best exemplified by its prominent role in Chinese-style cooking, in which it figures in every step of preparation from chopping firewood to butchering meat to slicing delicate vegetables and even whittling chopsticks. Its flat side is used like a mallet to pound and tenderize meat.
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vər