cleave

Formscleaves, cleaving, cleft

1. 1
   split by bladeverbtransitive

   To split something or cut it apart with a sharp instrument, or as if with one.

   With one swing of the ax, he managed to cleave the log down the middle.

   A single beam of light cleaves the darkness of the cave.

   UsagePast forms vary: cleaved, cleft or clove. Do not confuse it with cleave to, which means stick fast.

   Similarsplit, chop, hew, cut, sever

   Note

   The basic cutting verb, and a strong one: it comes from Old English clēofan, "to split", and keeps a crowd of past forms. Wings clove the air; in Shakespeare's Hamlet a heart is cleft in twain; older writing has clave; and regular cleaved stands beside them all. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • The cutting verb derives from Old English clēofan, meaning 'to split'. en.wiktionary.org
   • Clove, cleft, archaic clave, and regular cleaved are forms of the cutting verb. en.wiktionary.org
   • Shakespeare's Hamlet contains the expression about a heart being cleft in twain; the Queen speaks it. gutenberg.org
2. 2
   clingverbliteraryintransitive

   To stick fast, cling, or hold firmly to someone or something; used with to or unto.

   Long after the party changed course, many older voters continued to cleave to its founding principles.

   "I only know that I love thee as I never loved before, and that I will cleave to thee to the end."

   1886, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure

   UsageThe past is usually cleaved: she cleaved to her faith; older texts have clave.

   Similarcling, adhere, stick, hold

   Note

   Different Old English ancestors lie behind this verb, clifian and clīfan, from a root meaning "to stick"; only the spelling and the sound are shared with the cutting verb. It is rare, and even its past can mislead: the Bible of 1611 uses clave for splitting rocks and for Ruth, who "clave unto" her mother-in-law. The to or unto that follows is what tells you which verb you are reading.

3. 3
   chemistryverbtransitive

   In chemistry, to break a complex molecule apart into simpler molecules.

   Digestive enzymes cleave proteins into shorter chains of amino acids.

   Heating the solution with acid cleaves the starch into simple sugars.

   Similarsplit, break

4. 4
   verbtransitive

   To make or achieve something by cutting, or as if by cutting, as when forcing a path through an obstacle.

   Rescue crews had to cleave a path through the fallen trees to reach the cabin.

   Each winter an icebreaker cleaves a channel through the frozen bay so supply ships can follow.

   UsageUsually cleave a path or a channel through something.

   Similarcut, carve, hack, clear

   Note

   The object here is what the cutting produces, not what gets cut: the truck clove a path, and the ice it split comes after through. That shift separates this use from the plain cutting sense, where the thing split, the rocks or the heart, is the object itself.

5. 5
   verbintransitive

   To split or come apart, especially along a line of natural weakness such as the grain of wood or a plane in a crystal.

   Old oak beams often cleave along the grain as they dry out.

   The coalition began to cleave along old regional lines once the election was over.

   Similarsplit, divide, separate, crack, fracture

6. 6
   split crystalsverbtransitive

   To split a gem, semiconductor wafer, or other single crystal along one of its more symmetrical lattice planes, often by a blow, so the pieces have flat facets.

   A skilled cutter can cleave a rough diamond with a single tap on a steel blade.

   Technicians cleave the semiconductor wafer into bars so that each laser has smooth mirror facets at its ends.

   Similarsplit

   Note

   Here the skill lies in finding the plane: a well-placed blow parts the crystal along a plane crossed by relatively weak or relatively few atomic bonds, so it splits cleanly instead of shattering. A notch or scratch is often made first to start the break. The verb takes the crystal as its object; with the crystal as subject, it becomes its intransitive partner. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • A blow applied in the correct direction can split a crystal cleanly along a cleavage plane. en.wikipedia.org
   • This explanation is not general: silicon has equal-strength bonds, and its preferred cleavage planes have a lower density of bonds crossing them. Cleavage can involve fewer bonds rather than weaker individual bonds. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
   • A preliminary notch or scratch is often used to initiate cleavage. en.wikipedia.org

Showing meanings only. Show all 9