Definition of "cleave" [cleave]

• To split with or as if with a sharp instrument. See Synonyms at tear1. (verb-transitive)
• To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting: cleave a path through the ice. (verb-transitive)
• To pierce or penetrate: The wings cleaved the foggy air. (verb-transitive)
• Chemistry To split (a complex molecule) into simpler molecules. (verb-transitive)
• Mineralogy To split or separate, especially along a natural line of division. (verb-intransitive)

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.

• "Like the word "cleave," there are two meanings involved in the word "occupy," one of which is the exact opposite of the other."
• "The word "occupy" is a bit like the word "cleave," which, as Alan Watts was fond of pointing out, has two meanings, one of which is the precise opposite of the other."
• "The word cleave denotes a union of the firmest kind."