plural in form but singular or plural in construction
: an annual bedstraw (Galium aparine) having many stalked white flowers and stems covered with curved prickles
also: any of several related plants
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThis year my diet has included chickweed, dead nettle, bittercress, dock, garlic pennycress, wild onion, brassica, wood sorrel, cleavers, dandelions, lamb’s quarters, day lily shoots, sochan, purslane and poke (amply boiled to remove toxins). Gabriel Popkin, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022 Brandishing bloodstained cleavers, two men warn Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about inflaming religious tensions in India and vow to avenge acts of blasphemy. Niha Masih, Washington Post, 29 June 2022 Eventually, a sweet clover, Bloody Butcher corn and black bee honey cake dressed with calendulas appeared, along with steaming cups of Spring Equinox tea, a custom blend of nettle, cleavers, dandelion leaf and Plantago that Coleman conceived.New York Times, 11 May 2022 And sharpening knives and cleavers for the local butcher. John Anderson, WSJ, 4 Nov. 2021 In the office, two cleavers are stuck forebodingly into the wall, an installation by Barry Le Va, the influential sculptor who died this year.New York Times, 14 June 2021 Others were more obvious, instantaneous and even violent, like one consisting of multiple meat cleavers thrown and lodged in a patch of wall or floor. Roberta Smith, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English clivre, alteration of Old English clife burdock, cleavers; akin to Old English clifian