See Also: Cleavage(medicine)
cleavage(dictionary)
Cleavage(health)
cleavage(dictionary)
cleavage(encyclopedia)
incomplete cleavage(medicine)
hydrolytic cleavage(medicine)
meridional cleavage(medicine)
phosphoroclastic cleavage(medicine)
progressive cleavage(medicine)

cleavage (iou)



cleavage noun. E19.
[from CLEAVE verb1 + -AGE.]
The action of splitting a crystal or rock along a line of natural fissure; gen. the action of splitting or dividing. Also, the state of being split, a division; the manner or direction in which a mineral or rock or gen. a party, opinion, etc., tends to split. E19.
W. Lippmann There is some kind of radical cleavage between the Marxian theory and the historic Soviet state. W. S. Churchill Anxious to avoid a total religious cleavage with the European Powers. J. Bronowski Sometimes the stone had a natural grain, sometimes the tool-maker created the lines of cleavage.
b. Biology. Cell division; esp. of a fertilized egg cell. L19.
spiral cleavage: see SPIRAL adjective1.
The hollow between a woman's breasts, esp. as exposed by a low-cut garment. colloq. M20.