cleavage

/ˈkliː.vɪd͡ʒ/

//ˈkliː.vɪd͡ʒ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cleavage" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cleavage” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,103. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,103
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of cleaving or the state of being cleft.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cleavage · cleavage · English

cleavage · rank #17,103 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #17,103
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH chronological

Nearest frequency peer: chronological (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cleavage”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cleavage” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cleavage vs cleave
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cleavage
PropertyValue
Headwordcleavage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkliː.vɪd͡ʒ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#17,103
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cleavage”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cleavagelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “chronological” (#17,102), “cohort” (#17,105), “childcare” (#17,100). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cleavage” is #17,103. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around cleavage (IPA /ˈkliː.vɪd͡ʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,103 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for cleavage, with forms such as "ccleavage", "celavage", and "claevage". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "cleave", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cleave + -age. The correct English form is cleavage, spelled C-L-E-A-V-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of cleaving or the state of being cleft.
  2. 2
    The hollow or separation between a woman's breasts, especially as revealed by a low neckline.
  3. 3
    Any similar separation between two body parts, such as the buttocks or toes.
  4. 4
    The repeated division of a cell into daughter cells after mitosis.
  5. 5
    The splitting of a large molecule into smaller ones.
  6. 6
    The tendency of a crystal to split along specific planes; schistosity.
  7. 7
    The division of voters into voting blocs.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cleavage appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Mineral cleavage is a property of cohesion. The cleavage of the particles themselves and its attitude with reference to the plane of the greatest and mean dimensional axes help to determine the perfection of rock cleavage. The more nearly parallel to the greater dimensions of the particle, and the better the mineral cleavage, the better the rock cleavage…
  2. […] the forces — the internal cleavages over class differences, the desire for "the good life," the white racist flight from the die schwartze — which shattered Jewish working-class community in the generation before mine.

Etymology

From cleave + -age.

This word in other languages

canalillo(Español)clivage(Français)Kluft(Deutsch)clivagem(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccleavage
  • celavage
  • claevage
  • cleaavge
  • cleavaeg
  • cleavagge
  • cleavgae
  • cleavvage
  • clevaage
  • clleavage
  • lceavage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cleavage - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccleavage1celavage2claevage2cleaavge2cleavaeg2cleavagge1cleavgae2cleavvage1
Edit distance from "cleavage"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cleavage"?
"cleavage" is spelled C-L-E-A-V-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkliː.vɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "cleavage" mean?
As a noun, "cleavage" means: The act of cleaving or the state of being cleft.
What words are commonly confused with "cleavage"?
"cleavage" is commonly confused with "cleave". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cleavage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cleavage" is /ˈkliː.vɪd͡ʒ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cleavage"?
From cleave + -age. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cleavage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

conceive#17,107cassette#17,097conveyed#17,112brunette#17,092

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Carlson11 variantsbribery11 variantsculprit11 variantsbatsman11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list