CLEAVAGE

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cleavage mean? 

• CLEAVAGE (noun)
  The noun CLEAVAGE has 5 senses:

1. the state of being split or cleft
2. the breaking of a chemical bond in a molecule resulting in smaller molecules
3. (embryology) the repeated division of a fertilised ovum
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

  Familiarity information: CLEAVAGE used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CLEAVAGE (noun)

Meaning:

The state of being split or cleft

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

there was a cleavage between the liberal and conservative members

Hypernyms ("cleavage" is a kind of...):

state (the way something is with respect to its main attributes)

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("cleavage" is a kind of...):

chemical action; chemical change; chemical process ((chemistry) any process determined by the atomic and molecular composition and structure of the substances involved)

Meaning:

(embryology) the repeated division of a fertilised ovum

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

segmentation; cleavage

Hypernyms ("cleavage" is a kind of...):

cell division; cellular division (the process in reproduction and growth by which a cell divides to form daughter cells)

Domain category:

embryology (the branch of biology that studies the formation and early development of living organisms)

Holonyms ("cleavage" is a part of...):

gestation; maternity; pregnancy (the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus)

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("cleavage" is a kind of...):

area; region (a part of an animal that has a special function or is supplied by a given artery or nerve)

Meaning:

The act of cleaving or splitting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("cleavage" is a kind of...):

division (the act or process of dividing)