cleave Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
    rive; split.
    • cleave the bone
  2. verb make by cutting into
    • The water is going to cleave a channel into the rock
  3. verb come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
    cohere; stick; cling; adhere.
    • The dress clings to her body
    • The label stuck to the box
    • The sushi rice grains cohere

WordNet

Cleave intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. cleovien, clivien, cliven, AS. cleofian, clifian; akin to OS. klibon, G. kleben, LG. kliven, D. kleven, Dan. klæbe, Sw. klibba, and also to G. kleiben to cleve, paste, Icel. klifa to climb. Cf. Climb.
Wordforms
Cleaved Clave (obsolete ); past participle Cleaved; present participle & verbal noun Cleaving
Definitions
  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 transitive verb
Etymology
OE. cleoven, cleven, AS. cleófan; akin to OS. klioban, D. klooven, G. klieben, Icel. kljufa, Sw. klyfva, Dan. klöve and prob. to Gr. to carve, L. glubere to peel. Cf. Cleft.
Wordforms
imperfect Cleft Clave Clove (Obsolescent); past participle Cleft, Cleaved or Cloven ; present participle & verbal noun Cleaving
Definitions
  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 pert or open naturally; to divide.
    Every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws. Deut. xiv. 6.
Cleave intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. 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.

Webster 1913