cleave

cleave ¹  (klv)

v. cleft (klft) or cleaved or clove (klv), cleft or cleaved or clo·ven (klvn), cleav·ing, cleaves

v.tr.

1. To split with or as if with a sharp instrument. See Synonyms at tear¹.

2. To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting: cleave a path through the ice.

3. To pierce or penetrate: The wings cleaved the foggy air.

4. Chemistry To split (a complex molecule) into simpler molecules.

v.intr.

1. Mineralogy To split or separate, especially along a natural line of division.

2. To penetrate or pass through something, such as water or air.

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[Middle English cleven, from Old English clofan; see gleubh- in Indo-European roots.]

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cleava·ble adj.

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cleave ¹

Verb

[cleaving; cleft, cleaved] or clove;[cleft, cleaved] or cloven

1. to split apart: cleave the stone along the fissures

2. to make by or as if by cutting: a two-lane highway that cleaved its way through the northern extremities of the Everglades [Old English clēofan]

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cleave ²

Verb

[cleaving, cleaved] to cling or stick: a farmhouse cleaved to the hill [Old English cleofian]

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	cleave - separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument; "cleave the bone" rive, split maul - split (wood) with a maul and wedges laminate - split (wood) into thin sheets tear - to separate or be separated by force; "planks were in danger of being torn from the crossbars" cleave - make by cutting into; "The water is going to cleave a channel into the rock"
	2.	cleave - make by cutting into; "The water is going to cleave a channel into the rock" cleave, rive, split - separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument; "cleave the bone" create, make - make or cause to be or to become; "make a mess in one's office"; "create a furor"
	3.	cleave - 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" cling, cohere, adhere, stick adjoin, contact, touch, meet - be in direct physical contact with; make contact; "The two buildings touch"; "Their hands touched"; "The wire must not contact the metal cover"; "The surfaces contact at this point" mold - fit tightly, follow the contours of; "The dress molds her beautiful figure" conglutinate - stick together; "the edges of the wound conglutinated" agglutinate - clump together; as of bacteria, red blood cells, etc. bind, bond, hold fast, stick to, stick, adhere - stick to firmly; "Will this wallpaper adhere to the wall?" stick - fasten with an adhesive material like glue; "stick the poster onto the wall"

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cleave

verb split, open, divide, crack, slice, rend, sever, part, hew, tear asunder, sunder