CLEAVER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cleaver mean? 

• CLEAVER (noun)
  The noun CLEAVER has 1 sense:

1. a butcher's knife having a large square blade

  Familiarity information: CLEAVER used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CLEAVER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A butcher's knife having a large square blade

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

chopper; cleaver; meat cleaver

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

knife (edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle)

Derivation:

cleave (separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument)

 Context examples 

“A thing like a cleaver,” said he.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the passage, and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Stark rushing forward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like a butcher’s cleaver in the other.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)