cleat

[kleet]

noun

1. a wedge-shaped block fastened to a surface to serve as a check or support.

   He nailed cleats into the sides of the bookcase to keep the supports from slipping.

2. a strip of metal, wood, or the like, fastened across a surface, as a ramp or gangway, to provide sure footing or to maintain an object in place.

3. a strip of wood, metal, etc., fastened across a surface, as of a plank or series of adjacent planks, for strength or support.

4. a conical or rectangular projection, usually of hard rubber, or a metal strip with sharp projections, built into or attached to the sole of a shoe to provide greater traction.

5. a shoe fitted with such projections.

6. a metal plate fastened to the sole or heel of a shoe, to protect against wear.

7. Shipbuilding.,  a hook-shaped piece of metal supporting a small structural member.

8. Also called belaying cleat. Nautical.,  an object of wood or metal having one or two projecting horns to which ropes may be belayed, especially as fixed to the deck, bulkhead, or stanchion of a vessel.

9. the cleavage plane of coal as found in a mine.

verb (used with object)

1. to supply or strengthen with cleats; fasten to or with a cleat.

cleat

/ kliːt /

noun

1. a wedge-shaped block, usually of wood, attached to a structure to act as a support

2. a device consisting of two hornlike prongs projecting horizontally in opposite directions from a central base, used for securing lines on vessels, wharves, etc

3. a short length of angle iron used as a bracket

4. a piece of metal, leather, etc, attached to the sole of a shoe to prevent wear or slipping

5. a small triangular-shaped nail used in glazing

6. any of the main cleavage planes in a coal seam

verb

1. to supply or support with a cleat or cleats

2. to secure (a line) on a cleat

Word History and Origins

Origin of cleat¹

1350–1400; Middle English clete wedge, cognate with Old High German klōz lump, ball, Dutch kloot; akin to clot

Word History and Origins

Origin of cleat¹

C14: of Germanic origin, compare Old High German chlōz clod, lump, Dutch kloot ball

Example Sentences

The NFL’s “My Cause My Cleats” initiative started after Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall was fined for violating the league’s uniform policy when he wore cleats promoting Mental Health Awareness Week in October 2013.

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Brad has turned in his cleats for Hollywood.

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Eisenhower used to put on golf cleats at his desk and walk outside to hit a few balls.

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He made it up with just microspikes — little metal cleats that attach to the bottom of shoes and provide winter traction on flat ground — or on gentle slopes where falling would be no big deal.

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“When it started raining, that substance would start to rise. It would get stuck in your cleats, almost like caulking.”

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