DictionaryAI

cleavage

noun
SayKLEE-vijUS/ˈkli.vɪd͡ʒ/UK/ˈkliː.vɪd͡ʒ/

Pluralcleavages (some meanings)

7 meanings of cleavage

Practice

  1. 1
    breastsnoununcountable
    The space between a woman's breasts, especially when a low top shows it.

    Her new dress showed a little cleavage, so she added a scarf.

    The school dress code says tops must not show cleavage.

    Note
  2. 2
    voting groupsnouncountable
    The way voters split into groups that each vote the same way.

    The election showed a clear cleavage between city and country voters.

    Old cleavages based on religion still shape how people vote there.

    Similardivide, division, split, rift

    Note
  3. 3
    splitting (general)nouncountable or uncountable
    The act of splitting something apart, or the state of being split.

    The cleavage of the log along its grain took just one swing of the ax.

    The fight over money caused a deep cleavage in the family.

    Similarsplit, division, rift, schism

    Note
  4. 4
    geologynouncountable or uncountable
    The way some crystals and rocks split easily along flat surfaces.

    This salt crystal has good cleavage, so it breaks into tiny cubes.

    Slate splits into thin roof tiles along its cleavage.

    Note
  5. 5
    cell divisionnouncountable or uncountable
    The way one cell, such as a fertilized egg, splits again and again into new cells.

    Under the microscope, we watched cleavage turn one frog egg into many cells.

    After a few rounds of cleavage, the tiny embryo is a ball of cells.

    Similardivision, segmentation

    Note
  6. 6
    other body partsnoununcountable
    A gap like the one between breasts, but between other body parts, such as the buttocks or toes.

    Her new sandals showed a little toe cleavage.

    When the plumber bent down, some cleavage showed above his belt.

    Note
  7. 7
    chemistrynoununcountable
    The breaking up of a big molecule into smaller ones.

    The enzyme speeds up the cleavage of starch into smaller sugars.

    Strong heat can cause cleavage of the long chains in plastic.

    Note

Practice

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Origin

Made from cleave + -age.