Cleavage

/ˈkliː.vɪd͡ʒ/ · noun

Meaning

The act of cleaving or the state of being cleft..

Definitions by Sense

1. The act of cleaving or the state of being cleft.
2. The hollow or separation between a woman's breasts, especially as revealed by a low neckline.
3. (by extension) Any similar separation between two body parts, such as the buttocks or toes.
4. (biology) The repeated division of a cell into daughter cells after mitosis.
5. (chemistry) The splitting of a large molecule into smaller ones.
6. (mineralogy) The tendency of a crystal to split along specific planes; schistosity.
7. (politics) The division of voters into voting blocs.

Example Sentences

Mineral cleavage is a property of cohesion. The cleavage of the particles themselves and its attitude with reference to the plane of the greatest and mean dimensional axes help to determine the perfection of rock cleavage. The more nearly parallel to the greater dimensions of the particle, and the better the mineral cleavage, the better the rock cleavage produced.

[…] the forces — the internal cleavages over class differences, the desire for "the good life," the white racist flight from the die schwartze — which shattered Jewish working-class community in the generation before mine.

It will become apparent from the following discussion that some of the various structures which are grouped together as cleavage may correspond to a schistosity and/or foliation. Accordingly, Wilson defines rock cleavage (and schistosity) as a planar structure, usually distinct from stratification, which permits rocks to be fractured or cleaved into thin slices. Dennis (1977) defines cleavage as a set of closely spaced secondary, planar, parallel fabric elements that impart mechanical anisotropy to a rock without apparent loss of cohesion. This latter definition appears more precise; however, as we shall see, it presents many difficulties in dealing with those forms of cleavage which are mainly defined by foliation or by fractures.

Holonym: décolletage

Low-cut Restoration costumes worn by the Misses Lockwood and Roc (see cut) display too much "cleavage" (Johnston Office trade term for the shadowed depression dividing an actress' bosom into two distinct sections).

Wendy thought that her therapist was looking down her cleavage and said so. The therapist was mortified and chiefly felt guilty, unsure whether she had been looking down her patient's cleavage or not. On a reflex she assured Wendy that she was not looking down her cleavage and the matter appeared to rest.

All this time I kept my gaze fixed on hers, an enormously difficult task given the gravitational pull exerted by her cleavage. While I was critical of many things when it came to so-called Western civilization, cleavage was not one of them.

Half an hour later, she was staring at a large bottom-cleavage, which was protruding from under the bed. / 'Ohhh Kayyy. Here we go. This is basically your problem.' / Olivia took a few steps back as the bottom-cleavage started wriggling out towards her. Connor the counter-surveillance expert pulled himself awkwardly to his knees, […]

Synonyms for cleavage

Antonyms for cleavage

Related Words

Word Forms

• cleavages

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions