Cleat

Pronunciation

• enPR: klÄ“t, IPA: /kliːt/
• Rhymes: -iːt

Origin

From Middle English clete, from Old English clēat, from Proto-Germanic *klautaz ("firm lump"), from Proto-Indo-European *glei- ("to glue, stick together, form into a ball"). Cognate with Dutch kloot ("ball; testicle") and German Kloß. See also clay and clout.

Full definition of cleat

Noun

1. A strip of wood or iron fastened on transversely to something in order to give strength, prevent warping, hold position, etc.
• 1851, Herman Melville, ,... the people of that island erected lofty spars along the seacoast, to which the look-outs ascended by means of nailed cleats, something as fowls go upstairs in a hen-house.
2. A continuous metal strip, or angled piece, used to secure metal components.
3. (nautical) A device to quickly affix a line or rope, and from which it is also easy to release.
4. A protrusion on the bottom of a shoe meant for better traction. (See cleats.)

Verb

1. To strengthen with a cleat.
2. (nautical) To tie off, affix, stopper a line or rope, especially to a cleat

Anagrams

• CELTA, eclat, éclat