Adjacent Words

Cleavage definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CLEAVAGE, n.
1. The act of cleaving or splitting.
2. In mineralogy, the manner of cleaving, or of mechanical division. It is used in relation to the fracture of minerals which have natural joints and possess a regular structure.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the state of being split or cleft; "there was a cleavage between the liberal and conservative members"
2: the breaking of a chemical bond in a molecule resulting in smaller molecules
3: (embryology) the repeated division of a fertilised ovum [syn: cleavage, segmentation]
4: the line formed by a groove between two parts (especially the separation between a woman's breasts)
5: the act of cleaving or splitting

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1816 1. a. the quality of a crystallized substance or rock of splitting along definite planes; also the occurrence of such splitting b. a fragment (as of a diamond) obtained by splitting 2. the action of cleaving ; the state of being cleft 3. the series of synchronized mitotic cell divisions of a fertilized egg that results in the formation of the blastomeres and changes the single-celled zygote into a multicellular embryo; also one of these cell divisions 4. the splitting of a molecule into simpler molecules 5. the depression between a woman's breasts especially when made visible by a low-cut neckline

Britannica Concise

Tendency of a crystalline substance to split into fragments bounded by plane surfaces. Cleavage surfaces are seldom as flat as crystal faces, but the angles between them are highly characteristic and valuable in identifying a crystalline material. Cleavage occurs on planes where the atomic bonding forces are weakest; for example, galena cleaves parallel to all faces of a cube. Cleavage is described by its direction (as cubic, prismatic, basal) and by the ease with which it is produced. A perfect cleavage produces smooth, lustrous surfaces. Other degrees include distinct, imperfect, and difficult. See also fracture.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the hollow between a woman's breasts, esp. as exposed by a low-cut garment. 2 a division or splitting. 3 the splitting of rocks, crystals, etc., in a preferred direction.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cleavage Cleav"age, n. 1. The act of cleaving or splitting. 2. (Crystallog.) The quality possessed by many crystallized substances of splitting readily in one or more definite directions, in which the cohesive attraction is a minimum, affording more or less smooth surfaces; the direction of the dividing plane; a fragment obtained by cleaving, as of a diamond. See Parting. 3. (Geol.) Division into lamin[ae], like slate, with the lamination not necessarily parallel to the plane of deposition; -- usually produced by pressure. Basal cleavage, cleavage parallel to the base of a crystal, or to the plane of the lateral axes. Cell cleavage (Biol.), multiplication of cells by fission. See Segmentation. Cubic cleavage, cleavage parallel to the faces of a cube. Diagonal cleavage, cleavage parallel to ta diagonal plane. Egg clavage. (Biol.) See Segmentation. Lateral cleavage, cleavage parallel to the lateral planes. Octahedral, Dodecahedral, or Rhombohedral, {cleavage, cleavage parallel to the faces of an octahedron, dodecahedron, or rhombohedron. Prismatic cleavage, cleavage parallel to a vertical prism.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cleavage Cleav"age, n. 1. The act of cleaving or splitting. 2. (Crystallog.) The quality possessed by many crystallized substances of splitting readily in one or more definite directions, in which the cohesive attraction is a minimum, affording more or less smooth surfaces; the direction of the dividing plane; a fragment obtained by cleaving, as of a diamond. See Parting. 3. (Geol.) Division into lamin[ae], like slate, with the lamination not necessarily parallel to the plane of deposition; -- usually produced by pressure. Basal cleavage, cleavage parallel to the base of a crystal, or to the plane of the lateral axes. Cell cleavage (Biol.), multiplication of cells by fission. See Segmentation. Cubic cleavage, cleavage parallel to the faces of a cube. Diagonal cleavage, cleavage parallel to ta diagonal plane. Egg clavage. (Biol.) See Segmentation. Lateral cleavage, cleavage parallel to the lateral planes. Octahedral, Dodecahedral, or Rhombohedral, {cleavage, cleavage parallel to the faces of an octahedron, dodecahedron, or rhombohedron. Prismatic cleavage, cleavage parallel to a vertical prism.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(cleavages) A woman's cleavage is the space between her breasts, especially the top part which you see if she is wearing a dress with a low neck. N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

abscission, alienation, alpha decay, amputation, atom-chipping, atom-smashing, atomic disintegration, atomic reaction, atomization, beta decay, bombardment, breach, breach of friendship, break, breeding, bullet, butchering, chain reaction, chasm, chopping, cleft, cutting, dichotomy, disaffection, disfavor, disintegration series, disruption, dissociation, disunion, disunity, divergence, dividedness, division, enucleation, estrangement, exchange reaction, excision, falling-out, fission, fission reaction, gamma decay, ionization, laceration, mutilation, neutron reaction, nonreversible reaction, nuclear fission, nucleization, open rupture, photodisintegration, proton gun, proton reaction, recall of ambassadors, rending, resection, reversible reaction, rift, ripping, rupture, schism, scission, section, separation, severance, slashing, slicing, split, splitting, splitting the atom, stimulation, surgery, target, tearing, thermonuclear reaction