cleaver

[klee-ver]

noun

1. a heavy, broad-bladed knife or long-bladed hatchet, especially one used by butchers for cutting meat into joints or pieces.

2. a person or thing that cleaves. cleave.

cleaver

/ ˈkliːvə /

noun

1. a heavy knife or long-bladed hatchet, esp one used by butchers

cleaver

1. A bifacial stone tool flaked to produce a straight, sharp, relatively wide edge at one end. Cleavers are early core tools associated primarily with the Acheulian tool culture.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cleaver¹

First recorded in 1325–75, cleaver is from the Middle English word clevere. See cleave ², -er ¹