cleavers
a North American plant, Galium aparine, of the madder family, having short, hooked bristles on the stems and leaves and bearing very small white flowers.
any of certain related species.
Origin of cleavers
1- Also called catchweed, goose grass.
- Also clivers.
Words Nearby cleavers
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cleavers in a sentence
One woman faced down the two alleged killers who used cleavers and carving knives to hack a soldier to death in London.
The Woman Who Stood Up to the Woolwich Butchers | Christopher Dickey | May 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTSome people swear by cleavers; others (like me) are terrified by them.
The antique fireplace and the ancient mantelpiece were forced to keep company with meat blocks and butchers' cleavers.
Duffels | Edward EgglestonThe glaciers are separated by narrow ledges called cleavers, or by each occupying its own deep cañon.
Your National Parks | Enos A. MillsThen there arrived the butchers, with their marrowbones and cleavers, and began to make their music with zeal.
The Lady of Lynn | Walter Besant
It was formerly the custom for butchers' assistants to provide themselves with marrow-bones and cleavers for musical effects.
Charles Dickens and Music | James T. LightwoodThe men who play the bells have got scent of the marriage; and the marrow-bones and cleavers too; and a brass band too.
Charles Dickens and Music | James T. Lightwood
British Dictionary definitions for cleavers
/ (ˈkliːvəz) /
(functioning as singular) a Eurasian rubiaceous plant, Galium aparine, having small white flowers and prickly stems and fruits: Also called: goosegrass, hairif, sticky willie
Origin of cleavers
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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