Definition of "cleaver" [cleav•er]

• A heavy, broad-bladed knife or hatchet used especially by butchers. (noun)
• Archaeology A bifacial core tool flaked to produce a straight sharp edge at one end. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The leading nigger had armed himself with a cleaver from the galley, and he grimaced like an ape as he prepared to slice me down."
• "A chef’s knife or cleaver is as sharp as a rapier, but it is not an instrument meant for killing."
• "Hello Kitt- the cleaver is a new tool to me, I'm going to have a go at dividing a chicken into the usual bits soon, and see how that goes."