Download the app
educalingo
cleave
" I tend to foster drama via bleakness. If I want the reader to feel sympathy for a character, I cleave the character in half, on his birthday. And then it starts raining. And he's made of sugar."
George Saunders

Meaning of "cleave" in the English dictionary

DICTIONARY

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD CLEAVE

Old English clēofan; related to Old Norse kljūfa, Old High German klioban, Latin glūbere to peel.
Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF CLEAVE

kliːv


GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF CLEAVE

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Cleave is a verb.
The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb cleave in English.

WHAT DOES CLEAVE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Cleave

Cleave may refer to: ▪ Cleave ▪ Cleave, a controlled break in optical fiber ▪ RAF Cleave, was an airfield in the north of Cornwall, England, May 1939 - Nov 1945...

Definition of cleave in the English dictionary

The first definition of cleave in the dictionary is to split or cause to split, esp along a natural weakness. Other definition of cleave is to make by or as if by cutting. Cleave is also when intr, foll by through to penetrate or traverse.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO CLEAVE

PRESENT

Present
I cleave
you cleave
he/she/it cleaves
we cleave
you cleave
they cleave
Present continuous
I am cleaving
you are cleaving
he/she/it is cleaving
we are cleaving
you are cleaving
they are cleaving
Present perfect
I have cleaved
you have cleaved
he/she/it has cleaved
we have cleaved
you have cleaved
they have cleaved
Present perfect continuous
I have been cleaving
you have been cleaving
he/she/it has been cleaving
we have been cleaving
you have been cleaving
they have been cleaving
Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past
I cleaved
you cleaved
he/she/it cleaved
we cleaved
you cleaved
they cleaved
Past continuous
I was cleaving
you were cleaving
he/she/it was cleaving
we were cleaving
you were cleaving
they were cleaving
Past perfect
I had cleaved
you had cleaved
he/she/it had cleaved
we had cleaved
you had cleaved
they had cleaved
Past perfect continuous
I had been cleaving
you had been cleaving
he/she/it had been cleaving
we had been cleaving
you had been cleaving
they had been cleaving
Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future
I will cleave
you will cleave
he/she/it will cleave
we will cleave
you will cleave
they will cleave
Future continuous
I will be cleaving
you will be cleaving
he/she/it will be cleaving
we will be cleaving
you will be cleaving
they will be cleaving
Future perfect
I will have cleaved
you will have cleaved
he/she/it will have cleaved
we will have cleaved
you will have cleaved
they will have cleaved
Future perfect continuous
I will have been cleaving
you will have been cleaving
he/she/it will have been cleaving
we will have been cleaving
you will have been cleaving
they will have been cleaving
The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional
I would cleave
you would cleave
he/she/it would cleave
we would cleave
you would cleave
they would cleave
Conditional continuous
I would be cleaving
you would be cleaving
he/she/it would be cleaving
we would be cleaving
you would be cleaving
they would be cleaving
Conditional perfect
I would have cleave
you would have cleave
he/she/it would have cleave
we would have cleave
you would have cleave
they would have cleave
Conditional perfect continuous
I would have been cleaving
you would have been cleaving
he/she/it would have been cleaving
we would have been cleaving
you would have been cleaving
they would have been cleaving
Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative
you cleave
we let´s cleave
you cleave
The imperative is used to form commands or requests.
NONFINITE VERB FORMS
Infinitive
to cleave
Past participle
cleaved
Present Participle
cleaving
Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH CLEAVE

believe · cleeve · disbelieve · half-sleeve · interleave · leave · leve · make-believe · oversleeve · relieve · shirtsleeve · sleave · sleeve · slieve · unbelieve · wayleave

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE CLEAVE

clearer · clearing · clearing bank · clearing house · clearing sale · clearly · clearness · clearstoried · clearstories · clearstory · clearway · clearweed · clearwing · clearwing moth · cleat · cleavability · cleavable · cleavage · cleaver · cleavers

WORDS THAT END LIKE CLEAVE

absent without leave · annual leave · by your leave · by-your-leave · compassionate leave · French leave · garden leave · gardening leave · home leave · mass leave · maternity leave · on leave · parental leave · paternity leave · sabbatical leave · shore leave · sick leave · study leave · take leave · ticket of leave · weave

Synonyms and antonyms of cleave in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «CLEAVE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «cleave» and belong to the same grammatical category.
crack · dissever · disunite · divide · hew · open · part · rend · rive · sever · slice · split · sunder

Translation of «cleave» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR

TRANSLATION OF CLEAVE

Find out the translation of cleave to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of cleave from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «cleave» in English.
zh

Translator English - Chinese

切割
1,325 millions of speakers
es

Translator English - Spanish

Cleave
570 millions of speakers
en

English

cleave
510 millions of speakers
hi

Translator English - Hindi

फोड़ना
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

يلتصق
280 millions of speakers
ru

Translator English - Russian

расщепляют
278 millions of speakers
pt

Translator English - Portuguese

Apegue
270 millions of speakers
bn

Translator English - Bengali

বিদীর্ণ করা
260 millions of speakers
fr

Translator English - French

fendre
220 millions of speakers
ms

Translator English - Malay

Berpegang teguh
190 millions of speakers
de

Translator English - German

spalten
180 millions of speakers
ja

Translator English - Japanese

クリーブ
130 millions of speakers
ko

Translator English - Korean

베기
85 millions of speakers
jv

Translator English - Javanese

Ngalahake
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

chẻ
80 millions of speakers
ta

Translator English - Tamil

ஒட்டிக்கொண்டாலும்
75 millions of speakers
mr

Translator English - Marathi

चिकटविणे
75 millions of speakers
tr

Translator English - Turkish

yarmak
70 millions of speakers
it

Translator English - Italian

fendere
65 millions of speakers
pl

Translator English - Polish

przylgnąć
50 millions of speakers
uk

Translator English - Ukrainian

розщеплюють
40 millions of speakers
ro

Translator English - Romanian

despica
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

διασπούν
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

kleef
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

klyver
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

cleave
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of cleave

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «CLEAVE»

Principal search tendencies and common uses of cleave
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «cleave».

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about cleave

EXAMPLES

QUOTES WITH «CLEAVE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word cleave.
1
George Saunders
I tend to foster drama via bleakness. If I want the reader to feel sympathy for a character, I cleave the character in half, on his birthday. And then it starts raining. And he's made of sugar.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «CLEAVE»

Discover the use of cleave in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to cleave and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
The Other Hand
We don’t want to tell you too much about this book.
Chris Cleave, 2009
2
Gold
This time, the setting is the upcoming London Olympics. Gold is the story of two women, Zoe and Kate, world-class cyclists who have been friends and rivals since their first day of elite training years ago.
Chris Cleave, 2012
3
Unlocked
While trying to impress a beautiful, unattainable classmate, fourteen-year-old Andy discovers that a fellow social outcast may be planning an act of school violence.
Ryan G. Van Cleave, 2011
4
Blood Men: A Thriller
Is Edward destined to be just like his father, to become a man of blood? A true master of the genre, Paul Cleave unveils a brutally vivid picture of a killer’s mind and a city of fallen angels captured at the ends of the earth.
Paul Cleave, 2010
5
Little Bee: A Novel
The lives of a sixteen-year-old Nigerian orphan and a well-off British woman collide in this page-turning #1 New York Times bestseller and book club favorite from Chris Cleave. We don’t want to tell you too much about this book.
Chris Cleave, 2009
6
Cleave
Like Shiver, Cleave is a moving and very personal novel, and is bound to win Gemmell many more admirers.
Nikki Gemmell, 2012
7
The Cleaner: A Thriller
Originally published in 2006 in Cleave’s native New Zealand, where it was a finalist for the prestigious Ned Kelly Award for Best Fiction, The Cleaner is a chilling and darkly funny thriller that will leave you clamoring for his next.
Paul Cleave, 2012
8
Master Drawings of the Italian Renaissance
This book features masterpieces of Italian Renaissance drawings from the British Museum, the Louvre and other French public collections in Lille, Rennes and Chantilly.
Claire Van Cleave, 2007
9
Christianity: Behaviour, Attitudes & Lifestyles
This foundation edition covers the popular option, Christianity: Behaviour, Attitudes and Lifestyles. It's the only book that exactly matches the AQA specification, A, 2A and offers the best support for your lower ability pupils.
Joanne Cleave, 2004
10
Incendiary
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Thank you Rebecca Carter, a brilliant, generous, and inspiring editor. Laetitia Rutherford, a perfect agent. Hannah Dawson, who got things started. Alex Cleave, the man and the legend. Toby Eady and everyone at  ...
Chris Cleave, 2010

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «CLEAVE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term cleave is used in the context of the following news items.
1
'Game of Thrones' Cast: Lena Headey's Body Double Talks About …
They filmed it in Dubrovnik last October, with Headey wearing a simple beige shift as she made the walk while Van Cleave made the walk to ... «Christianity Daily, Jul 15»
2
Complementarity of the sexes
... and female, and said, 'For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? «The Pilot, Jul 15»
3
Blade and Soul: Chi in Use
A Blade Master's sword is infused with energy to cleave through anything – it is so effective a weapon that even the curious Lyn have begun ... «MMORPG News, Jul 15»
4
Lena Headey's Body Double For That Walk of Shame Scene in …
Rebecca Van Cleave obviously performed the scene baring all her glory as the production team shot the scene in Dubrovnik in October. «Food World News, Jul 15»
5
Land as a precious resource given by God to man
Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good”. The same way Qur'an 16:90 God commands justice and fair dealing and justice must be ... «New Vision, Jul 15»
6
What to watch for during NHL offseason
GM Stan Bowman would still like to cleave off some contracts, which means Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg and Bryan Bickell will keep a wary eye ... «ESPN, Jul 15»
7
Roger Federer's deviled eggs, Per Se's legal problem, TGI Friday's …
Roger Federer Makes Deviled Eggs -- "Cool and peel the boiled eggs in an ice bath of glacier water, and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Cleave ... «NOLA.com, Jul 15»
8
Accused NOPD cop killer Travis Boys pleads not guilty to first …
His public defenders, Christopher Murrel and Anna Van Cleave, are seeking to ensure that DNA material and other evidence that police ... «The New Orleans Advocate, Jul 15»
9
The Government doesn't understand terrorism — and it's making …
Radicalisation becomes possible when people get secluded in small networks of like-minded friends – the average size is eight – that cleave ... «The Independent, Jul 15»
10
Evangelicals create 'sin-free' Facebook
For example: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast (cling/cleave depending on translation) to his wife" This means ... «CNET, Jul 15»
REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Cleave [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/cleave>. May 2024 ».
Download the educalingo app
EN