1
: one that cleaves
especially
: a butcher's implement for cutting animal carcasses into joints or pieces
2
: a prehistoric stone tool having a sharp edge at one end
Examples of cleaver in a Sentence
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After the Buffs’ opening drive stalled at midfield, leading to a nifty Damon Graves punt that pinned Houston to its own 3, the hosts got out the cleavers and went to work.
—
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 13 Sep. 2025
Specifically, there are a ton of underbarrel attachments that are great, from hucking cleavers at enemies for one shot kills, shooting out gravity wells, laying down corrosive pools or an AOE energy blast around you.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
The older woman paces from one wall of the sauna to the other, with a hand on her waist and the other straight out, like a cleaver.
—Weike Wang, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
The pair have also found many functioning skeleton keys, milk bottles and caps from 1902 to 1940, and a large meat cleaver hanging in the basement ceiling rafters.
—Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleaver
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Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 13 Sep. 2025
Specifically, there are a ton of underbarrel attachments that are great, from hucking cleavers at enemies for one shot kills, shooting out gravity wells, laying down corrosive pools or an AOE energy blast around you.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
The older woman paces from one wall of the sauna to the other, with a hand on her waist and the other straight out, like a cleaver.
—Weike Wang, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
The pair have also found many functioning skeleton keys, milk bottles and caps from 1902 to 1940, and a large meat cleaver hanging in the basement ceiling rafters.
—Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleaver
Cite this Entry
“Cleaver.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleaver. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cleaver
noun
cleav·er
ˈklē-vər 
: a heavy knife with a wide blade
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