cleavers
Americannoun
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a North American plant, Galium aparine, of the madder family, having short, hooked bristles on the stems and leaves and bearing very small white flowers.
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any of certain related species.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cleavers
before 1000; Middle English clivre, Old English clife burdock ( -re probably by association with Middle English clivres (plural) claws, or with the agent noun from cleven to cleave 1, whence the modern spelling)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
During the last amnesty in 2006, people handed over more than 12,500 blades to police without facing criminal charges - they included machetes, swords, meat cleavers, bayonets and axes.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
Like sitcom employees, the Clyde’s cooks complain about how busy they are, and they look busy, smacking cleavers through heads of lettuce, slapping turkey slices onto waxed paper, and lavishly squeezing sauces all over them.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 23, 2022
The loud thwack! of cleavers cutting cleanly, hitting wooden boards soaked in meat juices punctuates the usually jovial atmosphere.
From Washington Post • Dec. 23, 2021
But the winter season was just underway, and the 24-year-old with hands the size of meat cleavers and a lot to prove was undeterred.
From National Geographic • Feb. 2, 2021
By the time I arrived, I had enough anger to fend off a thousand flying cleavers.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
