/kliːt/
OriginFrom Middle English clete, from Old English *clēat (“block, wedge”), from Proto-West Germanic *klaut, from Proto-Germanic *klautaz (“firm lump”), from Proto-Indo-European *gelewd-, from *gley- (“to glue, stick together, form into a ball”). Cognate with Dutch kloot (“ball; testicle”) and German Kloß (“clump”). See also clay and clout.
- A strip of wood or iron fastened on transversely to something in order to give strength, prevent warping, hold position, etc.
“[...] 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.”
“I had learned that cattle willingly walk down a ramp that has cleats to provide secure, nonslip footing.”
- A continuous metal strip, or angled piece, used to secure metal components.
- A device to quickly affix a line or rope, and from which it is also easy to release.
- A protrusion on the bottom of a shoe or wheel meant for better traction.
- An athletic shoe equipped with cleats.
“He needs to put on five pieces of gear: his helmet, left glove, right glove, left cleat, and right cleat.”
- To strengthen with a cleat.
- To tie off, affix, stopper a line or rope, especially to a cleat.
Formscleats(plural) · cleats(present, singular, third-person) · cleating(participle, present) · cleated(participle, past) · cleated(past)