cleavage

[ klee-vij ]
/ ˈkli vɪdʒ /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR cleavage ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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Origin of cleavage

First recorded in 1810–20; cleave2 + -age

Words nearby cleavage

clearweed, clearwing, cleary, cleat, cleavable, cleavage, cleavage cavity, cleavage division, cleavage line, cleavage product, cleavage site
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to cleavage

rift, schism, chasm, division, separation, severance, discontinuity, break, split, fracture, cleft, hole, valley, divide

Example sentences from the Web for cleavage

British Dictionary definitions for cleavage

cleavage
/ (ˈkliːvɪdʒ) /

noun

informal the separation between a woman's breasts, esp as revealed by a low-cut dress
a division or split
(of crystals) the act of splitting or the tendency to split along definite planes so as to yield smooth surfaces
Also called: segmentation embryol (in animals) the repeated division of a fertilized ovum into a solid ball of cells (a morula), which later becomes hollow (a blastula)
the breaking of a chemical bond in a molecule to give smaller molecules or radicals
geology the natural splitting of certain rocks, or minerals such as slates, or micas along the planes of weakness
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for cleavage

cleavage
[ klē′vĭj ]

n.

A series of cell divisions in the ovum immediately following fertilization.segmentation
The splitting of a complex molecule into two or more simpler molecules.scission
The linear clefts in the skin, indicating the general direction of the fibers in the dermis.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Scientific definitions for cleavage

cleavage
[ klē′vĭj ]

Geology The breaking of certain minerals along specific planes, making smooth surfaces. These surfaces are parallel to the faces of the molecular crystals that make up the minerals. A mineral that exhibits cleavage breaks into smooth pieces with the same pattern of parallel surfaces regardless of how many times it is broken. Some minerals, like quartz, do not have a cleavage and break into uneven pieces with rough surfaces.
Biology
  1. The series of mitotic cell divisions by which a single fertilized egg cell becomes a many-celled blastula. Each division produces cells half the size of the parent cell.
  2. Any of the single cell divisions in such a series.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for cleavage

cleavage

The process by which an animal cell divides into two daughter cells after mitosis. In an embryo, this process is repeated many times and leads to the formation of the blastula.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.