'Cleave' definitions:

Definition of 'cleave'

From: WordNet
verb
Separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument; "cleave the bone" [syn: cleave, split, rive]
verb
Make by cutting into; "The water is going to cleave a channel into the rock"
verb
Come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation; "The dress clings to her body"; "The label stuck to the box"; "The sushi rice grains cohere" [syn: cling, cleave, adhere, stick, cohere]

Definition of 'Cleave'

From: GCIDE
  • Cleave \Cleave\ (kl[=e]v), v. i. [imp. Cleaved (kl[=e]vd), Clave (kl[=a]v, Obs.); p. p. Cleaved; p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving.] [OE. cleovien, clivien, cliven, AS. cleofian, clifian; akin to OS. klib[=o]n, G. kleben, LG. kliven, D. kleven, Dan. kl[ae]be, Sw. klibba, and also to G. kleiben to cleve, paste, Icel. kl[imac]fa to climb. Cf. Climb.]
  • 1. To adhere closely; to stick; to hold fast; to cling. [1913 Webster]
  • My bones cleave to my skin. --Ps. cii. 5. [1913 Webster]
  • The diseases of Egypt . . . shall cleave unto thee. --Deut. xxviii. 60. [1913 Webster]
  • Sophistry cleaves close to and protects Sin's rotten trunk, concealing its defects. --Cowper. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To unite or be united closely in interest or affection; to adhere with strong attachment. [1913 Webster]
  • Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife. --Gen. ii. 24. [1913 Webster]
  • Cleave unto the Lord your God. --Josh. xxiii. 8. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To fit; to be adapted; to assimilate. [Poetic.] [1913 Webster]
  • New honors come upon him, Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mold But with the aid of use. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Cleave'

From: GCIDE
  • Cleave \Cleave\, v. i. To part; to open; to crack; to separate; as parts of bodies; as, the ground cleaves by frost. [1913 Webster]
  • The Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst. --Zech. xiv. 4. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Cleave'

From: GCIDE
  • Cleave \Cleave\ (kl[=e]v), v. t. [imp. Cleft (kl[e^]ft), Clave (kl[=a]v, Obs.), Clove (kl[=o]v, Obsolescent); p. p. Cleft, Cleaved (kl[=e]vd) or Cloven (kl[=o]"v'n); p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving.] [OE. cleoven, cleven, AS. cle['o]fan; akin to OS. klioban, D. klooven, G. klieben, Icel. klj[=u]fa, Sw. klyfva, Dan. kl["o]ve and prob. to Gr. gly`fein to carve, L. glubere to peel. Cf. Cleft.]
  • 1. To part or divide by force; to split or rive; to cut. [1913 Webster]
  • O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To part or open naturally; to divide. [1913 Webster]
  • Every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws. --Deut. xiv. 6. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'cleave'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Cleave'