cleavage

1. 1.

   the state of being split or cleft

   “there was a cleavage between the liberal and conservative members”

   Broaderstate
2. 2.

   the breaking of a chemical bond in a molecule resulting in smaller molecules

   Broaderchemical process
3. 3.

   (embryology) the repeated division of a fertilised ovum

   Synonymssegmentation

   Broadercell division

   Part ofpregnancy

   embryology

4. 4.

   the line formed by a groove between two parts (especially the separation between a woman's breasts)

   Broaderarea
5. 5.

   the act of cleaving or splitting

   Broaderdivision

Other forms of cleavage

plural

cleavages·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about cleavage

What does cleavage mean?

cleavage means "the state of being split or cleft". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in cleavage?

cleavage has 2 syllables: clea-vage. The stress falls on "clea". In IPA it is /ˈklivədʒ/.

What is another word for cleavage?

Close synonyms include segmentation. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is cleavage a common word?

cleavage is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.