One cleave means “to adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly,” as in “a family that cleaves to tradition”; it comes from the Old English verb clifian, meaning “to adhere.” The cleave with meanings relating to splitting and dividing comes from a different Old English word, clēofan, meaning “to split.”

CLEAVE definition: 1. to separate or divide, or cause something to separate or divide, often violently: 2. to…. Learn more.

Cleave can refer to being in close contact, to staying really, really close to someone or something: "If you are walking in the pitch-black woods without a flashlight, you want to cleave to the person in front of you."

CLEAVE meaning: 1. to separate or divide, or cause something to separate or divide, often violently: 2. to…. Learn more.

1. to adhere closely; cling (usu. fol. by to). 2. to remain faithful: to cleave to one's principles. 1. to split or divide by or as if by a cutting blow, esp. along a natural line of division, as the grain of wood. 2. to make by or as if by cutting: to cleave a path through the wilderness. 3. to penetrate or pass through (air, water, etc.):

The wood is old and cleaves [= splits] easily. The bow of the ship cleaved the water. The darkness was cleft by the lantern's beam. The ship's bow cleaved through the water. The country was cleaved [= divided] in two by civil war. He continued to cleave to the beliefs of his childhood.

[transitive] cleave something (old-fashioned or literary) to split or cut something in two using something sharp and heavy. She cleaved his skull (in two) with an axe. (figurative) His skin was cleft with deep lines. [intransitive, transitive] (old-fashioned or literary) to …

Many institutions still cleave to the belief that business should be conducted behind closed doors. If there is any political trend at all it is that, in time of insecurity, people cleave to the safety of …

To cleave something means to split or divide it into two separate parts, often violently. They just cleave the stone along the cracks. If someone cleaves to something or to someone else, they begin or continue to have strong feelings of loyalty toward them. She has cleaved to these principles all her life.

Cleave definition: To split with a sharp instrument.