cleaving

Variant of cleave

cleave definition

cleave (klēv)

transitive verb cleaved or cleft or clove, cleaved or cleft or cloven clo′·ven, cleaving cleav′·ing

  1. to divide by a blow, as with an ax; split
  2. to pierce
  3. to sever; disunite

Etymology: ME cleven < OE cleofan; akin to Ger klieben < IE base *gleubh-, to cut, slice > Gr glyphein, carve, L glubere, to peel

intransitive verb

  1. to split; separate; fall apart
  2. to make one's way by or as by cutting

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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