# cleave

Pronunciation: say "KLEEV" US /kliv/, UK /kliːv/

## Verb

1. To split something or cut it apart with a sharp instrument, or as if with one.
   - Simple: To split or cut something apart with a sharp tool, 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._
2. To stick fast, cling, or hold firmly to someone or something; used with to or unto. *(literary)*
   - Simple: To stick or hold on tightly to someone or something, used with the word to or unto.
   - _Long after the party changed course, many older voters continued to cleave to its founding principles._
   - _Through years of hardship, she cleaved to the faith she was raised in._
3. In chemistry, to break a complex molecule apart into simpler molecules.
   - Simple: In chemistry, to break a complicated molecule into simpler molecules.
   - _Digestive enzymes cleave proteins into shorter chains of amino acids._
   - _Heating the solution with acid cleaves the starch into simple sugars._
4. To make or achieve something by cutting, or as if by cutting, as when forcing a path through an obstacle.
   - Simple: To make something, like a path, by cutting, or as if by cutting.
   - _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._
5. To split or come apart, especially along a line of natural weakness such as the grain of wood or a plane in a crystal.
   - Simple: To split apart, often along a natural line in wood or stone.
   - _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._
6. 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.
   - Simple: To break a crystal, like a gem, between its natural flat layers, leaving pieces with smooth, flat sides.
   - _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._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A cut or slash, or a place where something has been cut, whether naturally or artificially, such as a deep rocky valley.
- (noun) A flat, smooth surface produced by cleavage, or a similar surface made by similar techniques in a material such as glass.
- (proper noun) A family name.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–6** — The Proto-Indo-European root *glewbʰ- ("to slice, to cut") passed through Proto-Germanic *kleubaną and Proto-West Germanic *kleuban to a strong verb of Old English, clēofan ("to separate, to split"), and from there to Middle English cleven. Clive is a doublet. Relatives include Ancient Greek glúphō ("carve"), Swedish klyva, Norwegian Nynorsk kløyva, Dutch klieven, and dialectal German klieben.
**Meaning 2** — Two Old English verbs merged in Middle English cleven. One was clifian, from Proto-West Germanic *klibēn and Proto-Germanic *klibāną. The other was clīfan, which comes from Proto-West Germanic *klīban and Proto-Germanic *klībaną. Both trace back to the Proto-Indo-European root *gleybʰ- ("to stick"). Dutch kleven and German kleben ("to stick") are related.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cleave (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).