cleavers

[ klee-verz ]

/ ˈkli vərz /

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noun, plural cleav·ers.

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.

any of certain related species.

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Also clivers.

Also called catchweed, goose grass.

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 cleave¹, whence the modern spelling)

Words nearby cleavers

cleat, cleavable, cleavage, cleave, cleaver, cleavers, Cleburne, cleck, cleek, Cleese, Cleethorpes

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cleavers in a sentence

One woman faced down the two alleged killers who used cleavers and carving knives to hack a soldier to death in London.
The Woman Who Stood Up to the Woolwich Butchers|Christopher Dickey|May 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Some people swear by cleavers; others (like me) are terrified by them.
The 2012 Holiday Kitchen Gift Guide|Megan McArdle|December 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The antique fireplace and the ancient mantelpiece were forced to keep company with meat blocks and butchers' cleavers.
Duffels|Edward Eggleston
The glaciers are separated by narrow ledges called cleavers, or by each occupying its own deep cañon.
Your National Parks|Enos A. Mills

Then there arrived the butchers, with their marrowbones and cleavers, and began to make their music with zeal.
The Lady of Lynn|Walter Besant
It was formerly the custom for butchers' assistants to provide themselves with marrow-bones and cleavers for musical effects.
Charles Dickens and Music|James T. Lightwood
The men who play the bells have got scent of the marriage; and the marrow-bones and cleavers too; and a brass band too.
Charles Dickens and Music|James T. Lightwood

British Dictionary definitions for cleavers

cleavers

/ (ˈkliːvəz) /

noun

(functioning as singular) a Eurasian rubiaceous plant, Galium aparine, having small white flowers and prickly stems and fruitsAlso called: goosegrass, hairif, sticky willie

Word Origin for cleavers

Old English clīfe; related to clīfan to cleave ²

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

cleavers

Origin of cleavers

Words nearby cleavers

Words related to cleavers

How to use cleavers in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cleavers

Word Origin for cleavers